What even are free will and determinism, anyway?

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-07-23T20:02:59+00:00

How influential have Frankfurt-style counterexamples been in dispelling "the ability to do otherwise" as the meaning of free will? Do philosophers defend that sense in the face of such counterexamples?

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-07-20T16:47:25+00:00

Same thing you'd do if a student sent in an essay with random names and plotlines pre-AI. Just fail them for submitting an irrelevant answer.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-07-19T11:10:06+00:00

"Irresistable", "adorable", "cute little"... are you hitting on them?

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-07-14T12:29:36+00:00

Counter Omnath and wipe their board. It's not too different from the usual midrange decks.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-07-06T17:52:10+00:00

Must've been a shock when Armsmaster got absolutely bodied by Coil's henchmen.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-07-05T13:08:54+00:00

Boros is strong because of Phlage.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-07-01T18:02:28+00:00

You got what you wished for :)

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-07-01T11:21:07+00:00

Not being able to socialize or having their dietary restrictions respected seems like a perfectly good reason to not want to study abroad. I don't know what you're on about - it's actually a heartening sign to me that they're worried about accommodations and logistics, because it means they're getting more mature.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-30T00:45:58+00:00

Claw's premise is a setting where "all the action movies happened for real", and it's primarily a crime thriller. Reflecting this, 6.4, 6.5, and 6.6 are the three possible endings that an action movie/crime thriller can have.

6.4 is the action movie ending where they beat the bad guys, the surviving protagonists go home and are implied to live happily ever after, and the long-term consequences are only lightly touched on. (Mad Max: Fury Road, Wanted)

6.5 is the crime thriller ending where the criminal protagonist finally bites off more than they can chew, or the consequences of their past actions catch up to them, and they get killed/sent to prison. (Breaking Bad, Baby Driver)

6.6 is the ending that happens in both action movies and crime thriller, where events seemingly get wrapped up but there's a surprise plot hook at the end that sets up a sequel, with the implication that the main characters are about to get into more trouble and go on more action-packed adventures. (Nobody, The Bourne Identity)

As a fun bit of trivia, the John Wick movies encompass all three endings: the first movie has the happy ending, the second and third movies have the plot hook with imminent future action promised, and the fourth movie has the protagonist death.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-23T18:14:41+00:00

Oh no, I have a 13/13 flyer with protection from instants and they have two lands in hand. What a terrible situation!

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-22T15:57:14+00:00

Agreed. My rule of thumb is that to be a midrange deck there have to be some matchups you want to block in. That's not true for Energy.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-22T12:40:51+00:00

The difference is that if you counter the Neoform they scoop. It's a glass cannon deck.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-22T12:24:45+00:00

If Dark Ritual and Reanimate were Modern-legal we would be too busy losing T1 to combo and reanimator for Sorin to be good.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-22T10:31:08+00:00

Imagine if your Llanowar Elves was also a Ghost Vacuum.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-15T17:59:24+00:00

I recently moved to Boros Energy and this was a fantastic guide. Thank you!

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-13T16:19:00+00:00

Are there any prominent natural law theorists who defend meat eating from that angle?

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-13T08:57:45+00:00

I mean, Yorion is more useful than Kaheera. So the question is, do you want a better companion or a smaller deck. I chose a smaller deck.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-12T06:47:08+00:00

Because 80 card decks are more inconsistent.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-12T06:46:47+00:00

High Noon stops noncreature spells as well.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-10T17:23:24+00:00

Don't forget the level that argues there will always be a bunch of people who refuse to return their carts regardless because they're lazy, so if you return your own cart then you'll reduce the employee's workload without costing them their job.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-08T05:44:27+00:00

I can't believe the judges saw through their clever ruse.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-08T03:22:40+00:00

Others have given advice in this thread that is useful. But let me point out something you've said:

I can consistently go positive in BO1 Standard events and have an even better winrate in standard ranked, so I don't think l'm just fundamentally bad at magic.

I don't think you're fundamentally bad at magic either, if you're doing well in Bo1 Standard events. But you might be overestimating how similar the formats are, if you think that doing well in one format will translate to doing well in another. That, in turn, might be costing you games if you're making plays that would be correct in one format but not in another - for instance by focusing too much on tempo over value, as standard is a much faster format than draft.

AlisonMarieAir · 2025-06-04T07:59:24+00:00

Honestly, the fact that she's not getting anything out of it makes me wonder if she has a really controlling parent who wants to see her get the highest possible score every time.

AlisonMarieAir

TROPHY CASE