Choosing the Right Behaviors

Free will versus determinism is a knotty philosophical question. Do we really have the ability to choose our behavior? Or, is free will an illusion and — given the circumstances — whatever happened was fated to happen? There are definitely benefits that come with the belief that we have choices in life. A team of researchers led by Tyler Stillman of Florida State University found that a belief in free will predicted better career attitudes and better performance evaluations.

It reminds me of a story I heard a long time ago … so long ago that I can’t even remember the source. It was about a king who’d heard that Moses was a kind, generous and courageous leader. The king consulted his astrologers and had the court phrenologists study a portrait of Moses. (Phrenologists back then believe they could deduce a lot about a person’s character by examining the shape of his skull.) Having completed their studies, they told the king that Moses was actually greedy, self-centered and cruel.

The king’s curiosity was piqued even more by this, so he decided to visit Moses himself … and found him to be a very good man. The king related what his advisors had told him. Moses listened and then told the king that what the astrologers and phrenologists had said was quite true.

“They saw what I was made of,” said Moses, “but they couldn’t tell you how I struggled against it, so that I could become what I am.”

I was really struck by this story because it so clearly demonstrates that behavior is the result of conscious choices. Your character is not your destiny. You can shape your own future by choosing the behaviors that will enable you to win.

Or — to put it even more succinctly — as Mark Twain once said: “Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest.”

"Truthiness" on the Web

Following the death of Osama bin Laden, a Martin Luther King quote was everywhere on the internet: "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy."

Problem was: MLK never said it.

Megan McArdle, the business and economics editor for The Atlantic, uncovered the fakery … a perfect example of “truthiness” on the web! (For those of my readers unfamiliar with the term, “truthiness” — a word coined by political satirist Stephen Colbert — refers to something someone wants to believe is true, without any evidence, logic or critical examination of the facts.)

Another quote — "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure” — this one attributed to Mark Twain, also spread quickly. This too was a fake, according to Gizmodo.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. You cannot take ANYTHING you find on the Internet at face value. Just because something is repeated again and again doesn’t make it true!