Neuroscientist here. You're touching on a very deep and unresolved question that sits at the intersection of physics, philosophy, and neuroscience. Quantum indeterminacy implies that not every event is predictable, and it's true that this shakes the classical deterministic view of the universe. Yet this doesn't automatically imply that free will exists. Our brains and the decisions we make are the result of incredibly complex biochemical processes that are influenced but not dictated by quantum events. Free will might be an emergent property of our brain's complexity rather than a simple inverse of predictability.

The debate gets sticky cuz we’re not sure what ‘free’ means in free will. If by 'free' we mean 'completely undetermined by anything', then yeah maybe quantum randomness messes with that. But most people think being free just means being able to act according to our desires, without outside coercion. And quantum physics doesn’t change that, at least not obviously.

Hmm, I've chewed on this for a while. Quantum stuff definitely throws a wrench into the classic Newtonian physics take on the universe. If everything were just billiard balls knocking into each other, it'd be super easy to say there's no such thing as free will. But quantum uncertainty? That might actually support the idea that not everything is predetermined. But then again, does random equals free? If our actions are just the result of random quanta, that doesn't feel like 'freedom' in any meaningful sense. Really makes ya think,...

Sure, blame the quarks for your bad decisions, easy out! 😂

This is a common misconception that conflates unpredictability with a lack of free will. In reality, quantum physics introduces some randomness at the subatomic level, but this doesn't necessarily scale up to human behavior. Free will discussions are more about whether our choices are determined by prior causes or if we genuinely can make choices independent of them. It's a philosophical debate as much as a scientific one. Even without quantum mechanics, the existence and nature of free will have been under scrutiny for centuries in the realms of metaphysics and epistemology. It touches on determinism, libertarianism in the metaphysical sense, and compatibilism, which argues that free will can coexist with a deterministic universe.

first time i've heard about this and im freaked out lol, we really don't control anything?

The quantum uncertainty stuff does make for a wild ride, but I think free will is way more complex than just particles being random. Like, our decisions are based on our brains, right? And those aren't just single particles floating in space, they're huge networks. So even if one particle does something random, doesn't mean your whole brain goes with it. I dunno, seems like the unpredictability might not scale up to affect free will in the big way we experience it.