Will power Vs reality

#1
Do you believe that willpower alone can change the course of a battle? Some people say no and a famous example of valiant warrior who fail more than they succeed is Attack of Titan and Terraformars. Some people say yes and a famous example of characters winning battles without even any half assed logic is Fairy Tale. Some people are the middle say its a factor and a example is the World Trigger where one character says it can help one win in a battle of near equals, but is unable to overturn a vast difference in ability.

sorry for the manga and anime references. Couldn't find novels that fit this.

RE: Will power Vs reality

#2
Yes, willpower can affect a battle. In fact, it has a huge impact in war. Though usually you would switch out the word willpower with 'morale'. An army's morale is one of the most important factors in war, and the hardest to maintain.

you could also say willpower in individuals is the 'unwillingness to give up', which is a powerful asset in battle (and life in general actually). It's why I love One Piece so much, because they center that idea around Luffy.

But of course, willpower is simply an asset. Having it does not make you invincible, and there are plenty of times where it backfires. Just see it is a tool that some character's possess, a 'talent' if you will. I, for one, would never want to face Luffy. That kind of unbreakable will means you either kill him, or he'll kill you.

RE: Will power Vs reality

#3
In a reasonable world, yes, WILLPOWER does have its place in the field of combat and warring parties. In imaginary worlds, it can do whatever the heck the author wants it to.

Think of it this way. You have two armies, each with 1000 men, all similarly equipped and trained. One is a slave army while the other is made of voluntary men. Which do you think will win? Well, that answer depends on the impetus that each group has.

Let's ignore the free men for now and focus on the slave army. For one, they are slaves. Two, what do they have to live for? Is it similar to a forced inscription? Perhaps their families are held hostage. Another idea is that they're compelled to act due to magic or some other control mechanism. Lastly, people in that situation may even find death preferable to fighting for the wrong side or for those that they despise and thus throw themselves into the fray in order to get themselves killed.

As you can see, the slave army has good reason for either fighting with all they've got or giving themselves up to a preferably quick death. Let's move onto the other guys.

So, the free men are in an army for a reason, and are fighting a slave army for a reason. I'd say that's an act of will in its own right and that they are ready to fight for a cause or person. The question is now of who or what is that cause worth? Are they willing to lay down their lives for the cause? Or will they cut and run at the slightest sign of danger to themselves? I'm not saying that there's not other reasons for deserters, but the will (or lack thereof) to fight and die for a cause can be enough reason for men to bail.

... now that that's done, I have no idea what i'm saying any more.


Maybe we can talk about will power in itself and such situations where it may arise. That said, I do believe that it has its place, but it is as situational as it is your intent.

In simple terms, will is the intent and drive to do something or act in a certain way; it can be applied to just about any situation, several being in life, work, or obligations.

Let's say there's a truck coming at you. You notice it too late. No matter how much you will for it to not hit, you can't jump fast enough out of the way. The same can apply to saving somebody in the way of a truck.

On a more optimistic outlook, procrastination is determined by one's will to get work done and be productive. That is fully controllable and rarely is to blame on something other than yourself.


I've blathered on long enough. Does will power influence a battle? Yes. To a significant extent? That's situational.
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RE: Will power Vs reality

#6
To me willpower is another name to 'determination', the will to force oneself to do something they do not want.
Like, to train your body everyday or to finish the work before dropping into bed. Your body and mind produce reasons to not do them, and some power you have helps you win over them.

But as you can see, it's a long term thingy. No weakass without training could possibly muster 'willpower' in a moment to pass an obstacle (You'd understand me if you ever sat in an exam room and wished you have your notes with you).
And don't confuse it with berserk bloodthrist or unstoppable rage, which I found many people use it in their fictions. Because plunging one head straight into the enemy never works, especially when one is being the underdog.

In short, yeah, willpower is also a skill one has to train, like swords or magic skills. Use it at the right timing is the sane way to go.
Edit : and obviously, the one stronger wins. This skill is just belong in those things indefinable by stats.

RE: Will power Vs reality

#7
Here's something even more amazing to consider than just "willpower affect battles"...

Thoughts can alter reality itself -- and this is a proven fact!

There's a quark/electron/something in physics which Schrodinger's Cat was based on -- it's a particle that's neither positive nor negative until it's observed.  Recent studies have shown that when an observer has specific thoughts of  the charge in mind when they observe it, it does indeed more often have that particular charge.  They believe it's positive, and the majority of the time it is, in fact, positive.  Believe it's going to be negative, and it is more likely to be negative.

Thought affects the outcome.

Studies have been done countless times on rolling dice.  Take a normal dice, give it to 100 people and let them roll it 100 times,  and it has a fairly regular pattern of distribution on what was rolled.  Take that dice, leave the room, stick it in the fridge for a few moments to chill it so it feels differently to them, and then tell them that the die is loaded to roll "1".  They will generate an unusual weighing of "1" on their next 100 rolls.   Repeat, use the same dice, and tell them it's loaded to roll "6"...  This same dice will now roll an improbable increase in 6's...

Belief alters reality, and this isn't a modern concept.  Even back 2000 years ago during the time of Christ, he told people, "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." 

If your belief is strong enough, you can move mountains simply by commanding it!  

So, as to the original question of, "Do you believe that willpower alone can change the course of a battle?", the answer would have to be an outstanding "YES".

If our basic surface thoughts can alter something small like the chance of a number coming up on a dice (google for the studies if you like for yourself), how much can our thoughts in extreme emotional and physical situations alter reality?

I'll go so far as to propose that willpower may not only affect how long one stands and lasts in battle, but also how accurate someone is, and how inaccurate their opponents become. 

Go out and practice shooting the bow.  Take 100 shots and tell yourself, "Ehhh.. doesn't matter."  You don't care, you put no heart or will into it, and score your results.

Then, let some nice looking girl come up and whisper sweet encouragement to you.  "Win this and I'll go on a date with you."  (Or more, depending on the girl...)  See how much more likely you are to hit the target with the next 100 shots, when you put your will and focus into it...

Belief, determination, and willpower can completely alter the results one sees out of their endeavors in life.

RE: Will power Vs reality

#8
'Darkbringer' pid='796828' dateline='1474006967' Wrote: Thoughts can alter reality itself -- and this is a proven fact!
As far as I am aware, only the placebo effect qualifies. 

'Darkbringer' pid='796828' dateline='1474006967' Wrote: There's a quark/electron/something in physics which Schrodinger's Cat was based on -- it's a particle that's neither positive nor negative until it's observed.  Recent studies have shown that when an observer has specific thoughts of  the charge in mind when they observe it, it does indeed more often have that particular charge.  They believe it's positive, and the majority of the time it is, in fact, positive.  Believe it's going to be negative, and it is more likely to be negative.
 
Sounds like that's jumping to a conclusion. Factors like sample size, measuring tools,and it is part of quantum mechanics have to be dealt with before a conclusion like 'thoughts effect particles' can be concluded.. So, I'm going to say:

Citation needed. 

'Darkbringer' pid='796828' dateline='1474006967' Wrote: Studies have been done countless times on rolling dice.  Take a normal dice, give it to 100 people and let them roll it 100 times,  and it has a fairly regular pattern of distribution on what was rolled.  Take that dice, leave the room, stick it in the fridge for a few moments to chill it so it feels differently to them, and then tell them that the die is loaded to roll "1".  They will generate an unusual weighing of "1" on their next 100 rolls.   Repeat, use the same dice, and tell them it's loaded to roll "6"...  This same dice will now roll an improbable increase in 6's...

I seriously doubt such a claim, as well as source.
 It disregards other factors like:
 Air resistance, sample size, how the dice was made, initial way the dice was picked up,and if freezing the dice effected various factors as well.
I even looked around for this test. All I'm finding is statistics for how dice being crafted in a certain way effects the dice rolls.

This one is such a big claim, that even if you have the source, I greatly doubt that source is reliable.
 
'Darkbringer' pid='796828' dateline='1474006967' Wrote: I'll go so far as to propose that willpower may not only affect how long one stands and lasts in battle, but also how accurate someone is, and how inaccurate their opponents become. 

Go out and practice shooting the bow.  Take 100 shots and tell yourself, "Ehhh.. doesn't matter."  You don't care, you put no heart or will into it, and score your results.

Then, let some nice looking girl come up and whisper sweet encouragement to you.  "Win this and I'll go on a date with you."  (Or more, depending on the girl...)  See how much more likely you are to hit the target with the next 100 shots, when you put your will and focus into it...

Willpower does not give you automatically better results. Just because you WANT to hit the target more often does not mean REALITY warps in your favor.

RE: Will power Vs reality

#9
'Enferno' pid='803596' dateline='1474560330' Wrote:
'Darkbringer' pid='796828' dateline='1474006967' Wrote: Thoughts can alter reality itself -- and this is a proven fact!
As far as I am aware, only the placebo effect qualifies.

That's okay.  You don't have to be aware of something for it to be true.  





'Enferno' pid='803596' dateline='1474560330' Wrote:
'Darkbringer' pid='796828' dateline='1474006967' Wrote: There's a quark/electron/something in physics which Schrodinger's Cat was based on -- it's a particle that's neither positive nor negative until it's observed.  Recent studies have shown that when an observer has specific thoughts of  the charge in mind when they observe it, it does indeed more often have that particular charge.  They believe it's positive, and the majority of the time it is, in fact, positive.  Believe it's going to be negative, and it is more likely to be negative.
 
Sounds like that's jumping to a conclusion. Factors like sample size, measuring tools,and it is part of quantum mechanics have to be dealt with before a conclusion like 'thoughts effect particles' can be concluded.. So, I'm going to say:

Citation needed.

http://in5d.com/10-scientific-studies-that-prove-consciousness-can-alter-our-physical-material-world/

And an excerpt from that link for ease of reference:
Quote:“Observation not only disturbs what has to be measured, they produce it. We compel the electron to assume a definite position. We ourselves produce the results of the measurement.” (2)

Quote:A fundamental conclusion of the new physics also acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a “mental” construction. Pioneering physicist Sir James Jeans wrote: “The stream of knowledge is heading toward a non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter, we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter. Get over it, and accept the inarguable conclusion. The universe is immaterial-mental and spiritual.” (R.C. Henry, “The Mental Universe” ; Nature 436:29,2005) (1)




'Enferno' pid='803596' dateline='1474560330' Wrote:
'Darkbringer' pid='796828' dateline='1474006967' Wrote: Studies have been done countless times on rolling dice.  Take a normal dice, give it to 100 people and let them roll it 100 times,  and it has a fairly regular pattern of distribution on what was rolled.  Take that dice, leave the room, stick it in the fridge for a few moments to chill it so it feels differently to them, and then tell them that the die is loaded to roll "1".  They will generate an unusual weighing of "1" on their next 100 rolls.   Repeat, use the same dice, and tell them it's loaded to roll "6"...  This same dice will now roll an improbable increase in 6's...

I seriously doubt such a claim, as well as source.
 It disregards other factors like:
 Air resistance, sample size, how the dice was made, initial way the dice was picked up,and if freezing the dice effected various factors as well.
I even looked around for this test. All I'm finding is statistics for how dice being crafted in a certain way effects the dice rolls.

This one is such a big claim, that even if you have the source, I greatly doubt that source is reliable.


Here's one such study done on the effects of conscious will altering dice rolls, involving 148 studies, by 52 investigators, where 2,569 people rolled rolled more than 2 million dice to get the dataset they pulled their observations from:  http://www.deanradin.com/FOC2014/Radin1991DiceMA.pdf


An excerpt from the beginning for you:

Quote:Abstract-This article presents a meta-analysis of experiments testing the hypothesis that consciousness (in particular, mental intention) can cause tossed dice to land with specified targets face up. Seventy-three English language reports, published from 1935 to 1987, were retrieved. This literature describes 148 studies reported by a total of 52 investigators, involving more than 2 million dice throws contributed by 2,569 subjects. The full database indicates the presence of a physical bias that artifactually inflated hit rates when higher dice faces (e.g., the "6" face) were used as targets.

Analysis of a subset of 59 homogeneous studies employing experimental protocols that controlled for these biases suggests that the experimental effect size is independently replicable, significantly positive, and not explain- ~ able as an artifact of selective reporting or differences in methodological quality. The estimated effect size for the full database lies more than 19 standard deviations from chance while the effect size for the subset of ballanced, homogeneous studies lies 2.6 standard deviations from chance.  We conclude that this database provides weak cumulative evidence for a genuine relationship between mental intention and the fall of dice.

To highlight:
Quote:
We conclude that this database provides weak cumulative evidence for a genuine relationship between mental intention and the fall of dice.

 



'Enferno' pid='803596' dateline='1474560330' Wrote: Willpower does not give you automatically better results. Just because you WANT to hit the target more often does not mean REALITY warps in your favor.

Citation needed.   :P




'Enferno' pid='803596' dateline='1474560330' Wrote: I seriously doubt such a claim, as well as source.
.
.
.
This one is such a big claim, that even if you have the source, I greatly doubt that source is reliable.

Who knows...  perhaps your doubt alone is enough to alter reality and make my words false!  I just always thought when one was going to ask others for such things as citations, they'd come prepared and bring a few of their own to refute what the first person said.  

Regardless, I've did as you requested and given you a few links to help you to research into the matter yourself.

RE: Will power Vs reality

#11
Do not attempt to use quantum mechanics to prove that willpower has anything to do with anything. In quantum mechanics, it is the act of observation that destroys all possibilities but one, not the will of the observer.

Citing an experiment that was published in a pseudoscience journal that is a meta-analysis of studies from other pseudoscience journals doesn't do much to convince people who don't believe in pseudoscience.

RE: Will power Vs reality

#12
It's also a good idea to point out that in Quantum Mechanics, "Observation" does not mean "A person looked at or measured it." They use the term "an observer" a lot in physics, but it has nothing to do with an actual person observing anything. An object simply existing is being "observed" by the Universe.
Boop

RE: Will power Vs reality

#13
Quote:the hottest esoteric, metaphysical, and spiritual news on the net!

That alone as their tag line leads me to doubt everything on that site as possibly relevant to valid or reputable science without even needing to look further on the page. Such a line of thought is further emphasized by their ad content and the fact that i got an ad redirect within 15 seconds. (dont ask me what cuz i just closed the tab at that point.) Additionally, its content just screams click bait to stupid junk that I'd just get annoyed at. Oh, and it's also a blog... totally scientifically sound right there. Not to mention that they even have a "submit your own article" button.

About the paper...
Quote:Abstract-This article presents a meta-analysis of experiments...
Need I go further? From what i saw of the contents, they merely analyze the data which may or may not be close to valid. Refer to the prior criticisms in this thread on quality control and bias control.
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RE: Will power Vs reality

#14
But you guys miss the point entirely:  It isn't whether or not reality can be affected by willpower, it's:

Quote:Do you believe that willpower alone can change the course of a battle?

And, in this case, I'd say that the OP was talking about whether willpower can realistically change the course of a battle in a written story.

Whether you agree that "psuedo-science" is real or not, you have to admit that there is a large portion of the populace who at least gives possibility that it's valid.  UFOs, faked moon landings, JFK conspiracy, telekinesis, reincarnation, mind-over-matter, global warming, the myth that second hand smoke causes cancer...  There are people who staunchly believe and support in all these things (and I'm not claiming to be one of them; I'm just pointing out that they are out there). 

When it comes to writing, readers already enter the story with a suspension of disbelief.  What use is any ghost story without it?  Any fantasy story for that matter?  

What the reader wants is some way to explain what they're reading.  Some way to connect to the story and put aside their natural skepticism and disbelief.  Pseudosciences are excellent to bridge this gap in what a storyteller wants for his story, and what a reader is willing to accept.  They make excellent bridges between reality and the fantastical world of fiction.

Most people have heard of Schrodinger's Cat and it being both dead and alive at the same time.  Most people really know little more about it than that.  Wrap it up as an explanation of how reality works -- whether factual or not -- and your reader is going to accept it.  Toss in a few studies about dice rolls being affected by consciousness, and such, and you can expand the concept to whatever you want it to become for your writing.

Quick example, take these elements and put them together in your story:

1) Quantum physics is alterable by observation and observer will.  There's been studies which you can find which prove this.

2) Dice rolls can be affected by mental concentration.  Again, verified and tested studies and reports have been published on the subject.

3) Biblical references support the idea: Matthew 17:20 -- "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." 

4) In Buddhism there's the concept of Tulpa.  "Tulpa is a concept in mysticism of a being or object which is created through sheer spiritual or mental discipline alone."

And there's countless other examples where people believe that thought alone can manifest and alter reality...

Introduce these elements into your writing and chances are the reader will follow along and be willing to accept the concept that one of them is valid.  We're not trying to prove a point to the scientific community here .  Scientifically, can anyone even prove God is real?  Not from any scientific proof that I've ever seen or read -- but that doesn't alter the fact that countless millions of people around the world believe in the existence of a "higher power"!

By tying a little scientific information in with a few spiritual references, willpower can affect our story however much we want it to, and the reader will accept it.  Done properly, you can ever blow the reader's mind and leave them questioning whether your work was fiction or reality when they finish reading it.  (Dan Brown has a whole following of people who somehow believe "The Da Vinci Code" was real.)

In the beginning, Adam and Eve were booted from the Garden of Eden.  Their crime?  Eatting of the Tree of Knowledge, which would make them become like a God.

Quote:“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. â€śFor God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

This knowledge was forbidden because it would allow mankind the ability to shape creation itself.  "Be like God"...  God has the power to create and destroy based upon his will alone.  By feasting from the fruit, mankind was able to gain this power to alter reality based upon their will alone.  Science supports this.  The Bible supports this.  Other religions and myths support this...

One person has limited influence on reality and can only alter small things; i.e. the rolls of a dice, the way microscopic electrons reaction...

But what happens when you suddenly have millions of people who start reciting and believing the same thing?  Is global warming something happening because of changes in the planet itself, or because of people's growing belief in global warming?  

Millions of thoughts all on the same wavelength, all believing the same thing over, all subtly altering reality just a minute amount...  accumulating over years and years of advertised political maneuvering...

Which came first?  Global warming?  Or people's belief in global warming?....




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y4crGU7dkg

Suddenly, The Forbidden Planet makes a lot of sense!  The "great machine" left behind by the ancients was....

THE INTERNET!

RE: Will power Vs reality

#16
'unice5656' pid='804441' dateline='1474648183' Wrote: The other answers in this thread have already answered about morale and other psychological elements that affect the course of a battle.

When you try to bring a flawed understanding of quantum mechanics and garbage "journal" articles into it, you're just going to annoy a bunch of people.

^I second that.

And I'm pretty sure the op wasn't asking us if we can warp reality with our mind, so I'm not really sure why that has come up.
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RE: Will power Vs reality

#17
'unice5656' pid='804441' dateline='1474648183' Wrote: When you try to bring a flawed understanding of quantum mechanics and garbage "journal" articles into it, you're just going to annoy a bunch of people.


This is a classic case of a strawman argument.  It's easy to say someone is bringing a flawed understanding of blah, blah, blah into any debate, but you're doing and offering nothing to support your rebuttal.  


'donkeymonsterz' pid='804560' dateline='1474657140' Wrote: And I'm pretty sure the op wasn't asking us if we can warp reality with our mind, so I'm not really sure why that has come up.


The original question was: "Do you believe that willpower alone can change the course of a battle?"  

My answer is: Absolutely, and a lot of people believe that willpower isn't just something that can alter the course of a battle, but reality itself.

And, even though it seems what I'm saying might be an extreme fringe statement, it holds up to many tests.

Religion supports it with the concept that faith alone can move mountains...  Mythology supports it.  Tulpa are demons created by dreams and thoughts... Common practice supports it.  Why do we wish for someone to get better soon when they're sick?  Science supports it.  Don't like the quantum theory, then explain physiological changes simply due to the placebo effect.  Give someone a sugar pill, and their health can alter just because they believe it can change...

From WebMD -- http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/what-is-the-placebo-effect?page=1
Quote:For instance, in one study, people were given a placebo and told it was a stimulant. After taking the pill, their pulse rate sped up, their blood pressure increased, and their reaction speeds improved. When people were given the same pill and told it was to help them get to sleep, they experienced the opposite effects.

As I linked earlier, studies have shown that dice rolls can be affected by people's expectations on what the outcome is going to be...





Now, you can dismissively ignore the "pseudoscience" if you want.  You can disregard religion, superstition, and medical effects.  No one can make you accept or believe what you don't want to.

But it's unarguable that a lot of people actually do believe -- even if it's on a subconscious level -- that thoughts affect reality.  

How many people "X" a windshield when a black cat crosses their path?  How many are afraid of bad luck from breaking mirrors or walking under ladders?  How many superstitions are their about a couple's marriage day?  Don't see the bride before the wedding.  Get something borrowed, something blue...

Habit?  Custom?  Nothing more than regurgitation from a past cultural practice?

Call it what you want, but people perform these rituals with the basic belief that doing so will affect their fate.  Change or alter the outcome of their lives.




I gave an example in an earlier post:
Quote:Go out and practice shooting the bow.  Take 100 shots and tell yourself, "Ehhh.. doesn't matter."  You don't care, you put no heart or will into it, and score your results.

Then, let some nice looking girl come up and whisper sweet encouragement to you.  "Win this and I'll go on a date with you."  (Or more, depending on the girl...)  See how much more likely you are to hit the target with the next 100 shots, when you put your will and focus into it...

Enferno's argument was, "Willpower does not give you automatically better results. Just because you WANT to hit the target more often does not mean REALITY warps in your favor."

There's a lot of possible ways that belief and willpower could affect the outcome of the shot, that he's overlooking here.  

For starters, if one believes in religious influence and teachings, faith itself could be enough to alter the outcome.  If one wants to disregard religion as a reason, medical science says it's possible.  By focusing, a person can alter their heart bear, blood pressure, and reaction times -- the placebo effect alone supports this assertion.

Thoughts can affect reality itself, and willpower is basically considered to be "the ability to control yourself : strong determination that allows you to do something difficult."  (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/willpower)

It's a focus of strong thoughts, to help someone control themselves -- and there's no reason why that focus wouldn't affect them to perform better or worse in a contest.  

Or, why don't I just let some of the experts prove my point for me:

Quote:Cognitive psychologists suggest that an individual athlete's "explanatory style" is a significant factor in influencing sports performance. Individuals with an optimistic explanatory style consistently outperform those with a pessimistic explanatory style. [Seligman, (1990); Hanrahan & Grove (1990)].

Quote:A psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania proved that optimists are more successful than equally talented pessimists in business, education, sports and politics.  Based on his research, Metropolitan Life, the insurance and financial services corporation, developed a test to distinguish between the optimists and pessimists when hiring sales people.  The results of that experiment were phenomenal:  The optimists outsold the pessimists by 20 percent the first year.  During the second year, the difference jumped to 50 percent.  

Belief, state of mind, general outlook -- all these things form our thoughts, and affect our lives greatly.  

Willpower is a measured gauge of how focused those thoughts are.  Strong willpower and determination improves the chances of something, weak willpower and lack of determination decreases the chances of something.

Will affects reality.

Don't believe it?  Let's have a contest via Skype or some other video conferencing tool and see who can sit at the computer and not get out of their chair the longest.  You really have nothing to prove.  I have nothing to prove.  No price success, no fault failure...  I imagine the contest would end after just a few hours when someone needed to go take a wizz...

Now, on the other hand, let's say RRL here will pay you $1,000 if you can beat me.  I have no motivation to perform.  It's not my money.  No benefit to me, no penalty to me...  For $1,000, you'd stubbornly sit and pee your pants, waiting on me to get up and leave...

Your mental outlook, your willpower, and my lack of any, altered the outcome of the competition.

You thought, "I'm going to win that cash, no matter what!"  I thought, "Meh."  

Your thoughts greatly affected the probability of you winning the contest.  (You don't have 100%, no matter what; the universe is too random for that.  There's always the possibility an earthquake knocks you out of your chair, a gunman storms your house, or some other freak occurance happens.)




I think it's pretty indisputable that thoughts can affect ourselves and our performance.  

What is debatable is the extent that thoughts can affect external things around us.  Can we truly affect the outcome of dice rolls?  Can we affect other people?  If we make them feel good about themselves, do we improve their performance?  If we make them feel like crap, do we lower their performance?

Religion tries to answer these questions.  Psychology tries to answer these questions.  Medical Science does, as well as physics, math, and probability theory.  Superstition and old wive's tales abound with what happens based on the sheer force of focused thoughts alone.

Some people believe thoughts can have drastic affects on reality.  Some don't think you can alter anything.

The original question was, "Do you believe that willpower alone can change the course of a battle?"

And, I stick by what I said: "It most definitely can."  

I'm just more open-minded and willing to accept that it can have a greater impact on a battle than most people seem to support.  Most responses limit the outcome to "Yes, via morale," and then just kind of shrug off saying how that morale helps alter the battle.  

My concept is a little more specific.  Strong determination helps the men focus.  Helps them ignore the pain of injuries more.  (There's a zillion and one studies on how thoughts affect pain-management.)  They ignore distractions more, respond faster, shoot straighter, and are generally more effective as a fighting unit.  

Focused faith (such as an army of crusaders) may draw the blessing of a deity, or draw a curse down upon their enemy.  Only if one disregards divine influence completely, can one disregard the impact of mass prayer by an army of the faithful.

"Pseudoscience", as some people want to call it, accepts the possibility for telekinesis, probability displacement, and focused external alterations occurring via thought alone.




When it comes to writing in particular, it's up to the author to determine how strong an influence they want willpower to have in their writings.  No effect?   That's fine, if that's the tale you're wanting to tell.  Complete and utter manipulation of reality?  That's fine too, if that's the tale you're wanting to tell.

All a writer really has to worry about is, "Am I telling the story I want?"

Tell one where willpower does nothing and there's people who won't accept it or believe it, while another group will yell, "Preach the gospel!  Tell it to them, man!".  

Tell one where willpower alters reality, and there's people who won't accept it or believe it, while another group will yell, "Preach the gospel!  Tell it to them, man!"

There's a crapload of people in the world, with that figure increasing every second -- and all of them have various levels of belief in the power of positive thinking, willpower, and the influence of 'mind over matter'.

Instead of worrying about any of them, I just suggest the original poster only worries about what they're willing to accept for themselves -- especially in regard to the battles in their own stories.

RE: Will power Vs reality

#18
I've been staying out of this because there wasn't really anything to say, but you're trying to defend a point that just isn't worth defending. For one who claims to be 'open-minded', you sure are very close-minded about anything besides your own opinion.

Look, you've talked way too much for me to even attempt to argue with you, so I'm simply going to state my opinion.

Thoughts affect perception, which in turn can affect "your" reality, that much I can agree with. This extends to your own body as well, because your thoughts come from your brain, which controls the majority of your bodily functions. So yes, I can agree with you that thoughts can affect ones own reality. However that's it.

I draw the line at thoughts affecting anything outside of the person itself. The reality is, we humans are not exceptional beings. We're not 'special'. We don't have 'gifts'. We're just mammals that were able to think outside of the confines of their natural instincts. That is a great feat in and of itself, but that really is it.

It is simply fantasy to imagine that you can draw a comparison between thoughts affecting the internal, and thoughts affecting the external. They are two completely separate things. It just doesn't make sense. It honestly doesn't make sense.

RE: Will power Vs reality

#19
'ShiftyCake' pid='807147' dateline='1474875014' Wrote: Thoughts affect perception, which in turn can affect "your" reality, that much I can agree with. This extends to your own body as well, because your thoughts come from your brain, which controls the majority of your bodily functions.

It is simply fantasy to imagine that you can draw a comparison between thoughts affecting the internal, and thoughts affecting the external. They are two completely separate things. It just doesn't make sense. It honestly doesn't make sense.

You're not as far from accepting external influence as you think.  If you're willing to believe thoughts affect your own body functions, all you need is a vehicle of thought to bridge the gap from "internal changes" to "external changes".

It doesn't make sense, you say -- but what if there was a reason which could make sense to you?  Some logical, measurable way the human body can influence its surroundings, just by existing?

Something like human electrical impulses?

https://www.heartmath.org/articles-of-the-heart/science-of-the-heart/the-energetic-heart-is-unfolding/

Quote:HeartMath studies show this powerful electromagnetic field can be detected and measured several feet away from a person’s body and between two individuals in close proximity.

Our heart generates electromagnetic waves which are strong enough to be detected several feet outside our body.  Emotions and such alter the pull and affect of these electromagnetic waves.  

How great an influence can this have on other people and the environment around us??

The science is still out on the subject, but it shows definitive cases where one person's heartwave can influence another's, such as a mother's brainwaves matching her babe's heartbeat...

We're not closed organisms; we affect our local environment, and the people around us -- and perhaps even at long distances!

Read up on the subject sometime.  The science behind what I'm telling you is cutting edge and fascinating.  The influence we exert upon our surroundings might be much greater than we've ever considered.  ;)

RE: Will power Vs reality

#20
Please stop linking pseudo-science sites as "evidence". They're never going to convince anyone who believes in the scientific method.

To counter your "strawman" accusation (which makes no sense, as everyone who knows what quantum mechanics is knows your site's explanation is wrong), your examples are "slippery slope".

Yes, your heart emits electrical impulses. These can obviously be detected by a machine, which is the basis of how doctors diagnose arrhythmias with ECGs. Our brains also emit electrical impulses due to neuronal firing.

Sure, with extremely sensitive equipment, you can detect these electrical impulses from several feet away from the body.

No, that does not mean that these electrical impulses materially affect anything outside the body. The electromagnetic waves emitted by your cell phone and microwave are much stronger, and you don't seem to be advising people to use those to affect the universe.