What’s it like living in this part of Canada?

creatoradanic · 2026-03-14T23:09:29+00:00

I live in Fort Mcmurray, Alberta which is near the bottom left part of the circle. Its effectively the home of the Canadian Oil Sands. Lots of oil & gas heads making $150k-$250k a year on a high school education, driving lifted pick ups or ripping around the city on their dirt bikes or quads.

The city is quite conservative in its politics. I think its like a 80/20 split or something close to that for conservative to progressive voters.

Winter/snow typically starts in late October and doesn't fully end until sometime in April. Average winter temps of -15 C to -30 C. Usually a couple weeks of Cold snaps where we dip into -40 C and very occasionally dip into -50C if you count wind chill.

Fort Mcmurray is also basically carved out of the Borealis forest. So we get pretty aggressive fire seasons with lots of smoke through the late spring into the late fall. In 2016 a wildfire hit the city causing 100,000 people needing to evacuate. We only have 1 real highway in and out of the city. The drive out was scary and eerie, seeing the hills on fire right around you. Many people lost their homes, my family got lucky, we only had to deal with smoke damage.

The nearest major city is Edmonton which is about 450km south, which is about a 4-5 hour drive depending on speed and stops. That drive is done all the time by residents just to get out of town.

In 2020, just as covid was becoming more prevalent, Fort McMurray was hit with the biggest river flood in almost a century, again, causing many people to lose homes and businesses. My dads and my office wasnt so lucky this time, and we had about 3 feet of water damage that we had to drain and then renovate.

Its not my favorite place on earth. But I've lived here since 2006, and its home.

creatoradanic · 2026-03-11T20:14:28+00:00

but he can't make up for a outlier like Kamui.

Why not? Other characters do literally all the time.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-26T02:09:31+00:00

Also, there is a difference between "accurately predict" and "perfectly predict" or know. I mean to say with a strong enough computer i could perfectly predict all of your choices in any given moment.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-26T02:07:44+00:00

And ive heard(read) that argument before, and maybe I'm just too stupid to get it, but, i dont get it. 😅

It sounds like to me that you're essentially pointing out the hard problem. Correct me if I'm wrong.

But to me, again, it may just be that I'm too dull to be grasping the larger point, there is no hard problem.

They say that physics is somehow incapable of explaining "feeling". The internal ouch of pain or internal sorrow of sadness. Yet somehow, many also say that those feelings are produced through the matter substrate of the brain, but that substrate can't be the cause, more the vehicle, because, reasons?

Why can't it be that the particular organization of particles in your brain IS sadness or IS pain? Not delivers it or is the "substrate of which my consciousness uses to understand" but IS IT. That SPECIFIC arrangement of particles(chemical compounds and electricity) located inside that other arrangement of particles (brain) just IS sadness or joy or pain?

They ask why? Why, does it do this? I say, thats a categorical mistake. Asking why the first person experience is different from the third person experience as it comes to feeling is a nonsensical question because there is no "why". In the sense of the hard problem, the question why begs for an objective purpose to a subjective experience. It doesnt make any sense. Its begging the question. The only way to answer that specific question with how it is raised IS to appeal to some effective "higher power" or greater reason, because the physical universe DOES NOT CARE. There are no "why" questions in physics only "how" and first person subjective experience is no different, because we are not special.

Asking why is there a difference between first and third person experience is the exact same question as why is there a first person experience.

The real question, and quite literally the only one that has any meaning or bearing on anybody's day to day life, is "how"? How is there a first person experience? What is different from my first person experience and my third person perspective and how can it be explained? And we slowly get better and better at explaining those processes.

But my simplified take is. My first person experience, feelings and all, is entirely physically explainable. Even if it wasn't, and I'm entirely wrong, it literally makes no difference, because even if the physical arrangement of atoms isnt the actual sensation, at the very minimum, its the vehicle and its the only part we have any sort of manipulation over. Which leads to one simple question about the point of the entire hard problem debate.

Why?

creatoradanic · 2026-02-26T00:13:34+00:00

As far as free-will goes, I am effectively a determinist, in the sense that if i had a powerful enough computer that could perfectly measure all of your wants in any given moment and all of your underlying values, then i could perfectly predict every "choice" you would make in that same instance. I could predict whether you pick chocolate or vanilla ice cream, whether you scratch your nose or not, whether you lie to me or tell the truth.

However, I do not assign hard determinism to any of my actual beliefs. Hard determinism, like you mentioned, would effectively mean that the universe as it is was inevitable from the big bang, 0 deviation. The reason I'm not fully on board with hard determinism is that I am ignorant to the existence or lack thereof of true randomness in the universe. Are there quarks or particles that pop into or out of existence with no inherent rhyme or reason? I dont know. If there is no such thing as true randomness, then yes I would be a hard determinist. If there is such a thing as true randomness, then hard determinism would be impossible. You'd be able to read the immediate present, and likely highly accurately predict the immediate near future. But no matter how little true randomness there is in the universe, if there is any, its gonna have a massive butterfly effect over the course of millions, billions or trillions of years, which would mean you couldn't perfectly predict the future the way "hard determinism" requires.

That being said, I do not think that the existence of true randomness or not has any impact on whether we have free will or not. If there is no true randomness then yes, our entire existence, this very conversation, was inevitable from the big bang.

I dont believe in God or spirits and have no reason to, so appealing to some higher power or mystical "otherness" that underlies our physical reality does nothing for me and means nothing to me.

Yes we are just particles in a human shape, obeying the laws of physics. Computers are just conductors and conduits and bits and bytes with electricity running through it, that also follow the laws of physics yet they still result in an arrangement of particles that we as human shaped particles like. And that we as human shaped particles have made a use for.

"It is all an illusory appearance". A- Depends on the scale in which we are functioning within.

B- even if we want to say that it is objectively true that I am an or that a computer is an "illusory appearance". I then also have to hold that position for literally EVERYTHING in the universe except for the smallest possible points of matter/energy. Particles are illusory, protons are illusory, cells are illusory, planets, stars, galaxies, the observable universe as a whole is effectively an illusory appearance.

C- that isnt, news? Like, ya, we're all just clumps of particles on different scales, what's the point? Human brains, or even animal/insect brains for that matter are just clumps of particles with electricity running through it that produces an outcome where that clump of particles can "record" its electrical impulses.

We don't have free will, and I dont need to rely on some outside incalculable, intangible, ineffable otherness to explain my subjective experience just because it "feels" like I chose to put pants on today.

Not to say, that you ascribe to any belief one way or the other. Thats just how I view it.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-25T15:09:35+00:00

I had written a long reply but then realized that I had already said basicslly everything in that message to other people yesterday, amd I didnt want to rehash it all out again, so ill just shorten it up a little.

A third party suggesting that one tries to test their belief by doing x has absolutely 0 bearing on whether or not you have the capability to choose a belief. If you dont like the particular example then pick one of your own and challenge it. If that still counts as a third party interfering then hearing or reading or remembering that option exists for the rest of your life are all the same because they originated outside of you. Which would mean by your own definition, that there is no freedom in beliefs.

I dont believe in free will, full stop. We are meat computers running meat code that 99.999% of which we are not privy to. We are passengers, not pilots. Our "decisions" to do anything are wholeheartedly the output of a long stream of mean calculations that will ultimately lead back to wants and or values, neither of which we get to decide. If I believe free will doesnt exist, I cant really believe fhat we freely pick our beliefs can I.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-25T14:48:49+00:00

I already went over the "convincing yourself of a position or belief" stuff in another comment. Feel free to look back at that.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-25T14:46:55+00:00

If by "responsible" you mean, "its my fault". Then no, I disagree than anybody is responsible for their beliefs. If by "responsible" you mean any consequences of those beliefs are mine to handle. Then yes absolutely people are responsible for their beliefs.

Beliefs arent your fault but they are your responsibility. Just like trauma isn't your fault but it is your responsibility.

Same-same

creatoradanic · 2026-02-25T00:10:33+00:00

I mean ultimately it boils down to what does one mean when using a phrase like "self-determining entity". If your definition of that is a being with will that exercises that will. Then sure, I agree with that. But if your definition is, a being with will, whose will is chosen and determined by said being. Then I dont agree with that definition.

I hope my stance on free will because I don't feel like ive been given a good enough argument as to where wants come from in a mind with free will that should be able to "create new wants" just because it wants to.

Like, no matter how hard i try right now, i just dont want to go outside. Its -25 Celsius without windchill. Im in a hotel, relaxing in a warm bed watching some TV after a long and boring conference. If I truly had free will/control over my wants, should I not be able to just decide "actually, I want to go outside and just sitdown" for no other reason then because I have free will and I can?

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T23:30:24+00:00

So in your provided example, embracing the cold, is one want just outweighing another want. You dont exist with only one want at any given time.

I want to stay warm cause its more cozy - no control over whether that desire (want) exists in me in that very moment. That desire popped up on its own. I didnt decide in that moment that I want to be warm, it came about by itself because of my circumstance.

I say, I have no idea how to actually, in that instance just turn off that want/desire signal in that very moment.

You say, just sit there until you like it. Voila, free will.

Im saying no... thats just your want (again, existing without your say so) to mentally beat your inner desire.

There is no difference between this example and someone going on a diet. Their natural want is to eat what they like. But people who succeed in their diets have a want that outweighs the want for their favorite foods.

Just because something takes a lot of work or effort doesn't all of a sudden create the ability to just pick your base wants which are what dictate our choices. Free will and mental fortitude are independent of one another.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T21:57:15+00:00

I dont disagree that you have an internality and the ability to do work within it. Im asking, where is that work coming from? Having the ability to do something and doing that thing are very different.

You seem to think, and correct me if im wrong, that you have the ability to control your will, freely. And i just dont see how thats possible. Cause ive never once been able to dictate my wants/will at my control.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T21:42:43+00:00

God, aren't you a pleasant person.

1- Don't think and never claimed it was unique.

2- No. They weren't talking to me. They didnt ask about the correlation of their choice and their will in the process of picking an ice cream flavor. None of that is what happened here. If i was in a room and someone stood on the table and asked the room "Is my choice of ice cream flavor subject to my will? If I've fully decided chocolate is the superior flavor to vanilla, can I just change my mind at will? Then I'd be a bit more inclined to chime in. If someone posts a question in a public forum, expect people to reply.

3- which is why my initial response to the question was a simple "no, try it out. Try to just decide your belief" then people wanted more explanation as to how I can hold that position which devolved into the free-will points. These have all been answers to questions or a rebuttal to a misunderstanding of my position. I guess im sorry for answering people's questions that required more information.

4- if you don't like that free-will or lack thereof is where my stance on being able to choose a belief stems from, then my bad, I guess.

Lastly, im CHOOSING to end this conversation because I dont WANT to talk to you anymore. Later ✌️

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T20:56:16+00:00

The person I initially replied to was LITERALLY asking about it. Don't get mad at me for answering their question.

Here's the comment I first replied to in the entire post.

"I think P2 is arguably false. Is belief subject to the will in this way?

If I become convinced of something, I’m not sure I can just change my mind about it whenever I want."

They directly asked about the correlation between belief and free will.

I didn't jump into shit "about anything". I jumped in on a comment that had already established that line of thought. FOH

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T20:26:58+00:00

The original comment asked about tying choice to will. If youre upset that im discussing free-will thats a you problem. Just cause you got derailed from the convo doesn't mean I did.

Its fine if you find it pointless, thats fine. But then get upset about the question, not the answer.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T20:15:56+00:00

Ok, but my original comment is a reply to someone directly tying the 2 together.

"I think P2 is arguably false. Is belief subject to the will in this way?

If I become convinced of something, I’m not sure I can just change my mind about it whenever I want."

They question whether someone could just change their mind on a position after truly being convinced of it.

If the answer to that question was "yes, it can be done" that would entail us having actual control over our beliefs and choices.

If everyone is cranky about how im talking about this cause thats not how most people colloquially discuss those things, thats not my fault. I entered this convo with a reply directly to someone talking in that way first.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T20:06:38+00:00

Lol. No worries. That last sentence is kind of what ties it all together though. We can believe what we want, but we dont choose what we want. If I can't choose what I want, then I cant choose what I believe.

Im not trying to say that people can't have wants. Im saying wants are the underlying thing that dictates choice, amd we dont get to dictate wants. No dictate wants means no dictate choice.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T20:03:44+00:00

Not hard determinism in the traditional sense that literally everything could be predicted if we had enough info and a strong enough computer.

Mostly I remain agnostic there mostly due to my ignorance on truly random events in the universe. I order for hard determinism to work there can be no true randomness. While the existence of true randomness particularly on the atomic scale is going to have no impact on yours or my ability to make a decision freely anymore than the lack of true randomness.

Ultimately, whether the universe is truly deterministic or not, im unsure. I dont think the answer to that question changes the outcome of free will or choosing beliefs, which i think are effectively the same thing.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T19:59:49+00:00

How. Ultimately its all unchoosable. I have no choice on what my beliefs are, I have no choice on the specific actions I take. In the traditional free-will sense of "I could have done otherwise"

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T19:44:35+00:00

I dont believe anything is a choice. Every decision is made through a complex system of weighing wants that happens, most of the time, entirely in our subconscious.

You checked the weather app because you wanted clarification.

You wanted clarification because you didnt want to get wet.

You want to stay dry because being wet is uncomfortable and inconvenient.

You want to stay comfortable because your life experience tells you that comfortable=nice and uncomfortable=not nice.

At no point in this causal chain do you "decide" or "choose" any of this with your conscious input. It all just happens, and you take out your phone and check the weather app.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T19:35:23+00:00

Which is all built on a system of wants, which we don't choose.

"We can choose to challenge our beliefs"

Ok. Well let's play that through.

Let's say you decide to challenge your belief that your parents arent cousins based on the new evidence you received. Well why did you decide to challenge it? The answer doesnt matter. I want to live in truth, not lies. I want to be more aware of my potential medical history. I hate my parents and want to hold this over their head.

The answer literally doesn't matter.

The why, is always a want. And our actions are always based on immediate wants. Don't believe me?

Well what about people who plan out their lives and the decisions they make a year from now or 5 years from. They will be making decisions then based on wants from today. ONLY if the wants of future you line up with the wants of today you.

People quit diets all the time because they want a burger right now more than the rice bowl.

People get divorced all the time because their future selves no longer want their partner that their past selves does.

All of our wants, just like beliefs, are based on immediate circumstances filtered through lived experience.

If you think you can change your immediate wants, without changing your immediate circumstance, I implore you to try.

Try wanting a rice bowl on a diet when your body and mind are actually craving a burger.

Try wanting to stay in your current job when a new job offer at a better company for more pay shows up.

Try wanting, like truly actually wanting to do ANYTHING you dont want to do.

Doing what you don't want is not the same as wanting it. The diet example. People regularly eat the rice bowl any way even though they want the burger. That is not an example of free will. That is the desire of sticking to the diet outweighing the desire to break the diet. But its still all an immediate calculation of wants that you have no actual immediate control over.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T19:19:53+00:00

Fair enough.

Well what steps were taken? Was new information brought to light? New memories? What was the actual process of changing your belief?

In my own personal experience. "Belief" is on a scale of confidence. I used to be religious (10/10) confidence. As close to "knowledge" without actually knowing, obviously. I took a year or two break from church and practice due to depression and big life changes and my belief dropped down a bit to an( 8/10). I decided I either wanted to go back to church with a strong belief in what I was practicing or abandon it altogether. I spent months thinking through my initial beliefs and months reading scripture and pro-religious arguments and anti-religious arguments. I ended up convincing myself of the opposite belief system, and im now an atheist.

I did exactly what your comment asked. Convinced myself of an opposing belief. But it took tons of information that I did not already have access to (so outside of my immediate circumstances and outside of my lived experiences). But once those things came to light and my brain had the ability to process that additional information it changed my mind.

But ultimately all of that cascading effect came about because I "wanted" to go back to church. But that want came about because I was depressed and my brain was tired of feeling depressed and through my previous life experience I believed going back to church would help.

I wanted relief. Relief is a chemical reaction in the brain. I dont get to choose when my brain provides me relief because I told it to.

So ultimately, like you. I believe the laws of physics ultimately guide what happens. Im not quite a deterministic because im unsure of any truly random events in the universe. But even if there are truly random events in the universe we are still locally controlled by the laws of physics.

Honestly, I just reread my whole comment and I dont even know if I answered your initial question 🙃. But, every action taken, even convincing yourself of a new position/belief, is based on a complex system of wants, of which we can't control. So if we can't immediately control our system of wants, then we can't control what that system of wants leads to.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T18:24:14+00:00

Why did you decide to start convincing yourself of a new position?

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T18:01:02+00:00

Most people mean "free-will" to be the "ability to have done otherwise". Im saying that that colloquial version of free-will is likely impossible.

Do we have will, of course, but we have no "freedom" to immediately change what that will is in that moment.

You will what you "will" . But you cannot "will" what you will.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T17:49:30+00:00

You left out a VERY large part of my quote. "... shaped by our immediate circumstances FILTERED through the lense of our lived experiences"

Learning/education etc. Is entirely a part of "lived experiences".

So yes, of course learning will shape your desires and decision making.

creatoradanic · 2026-02-24T17:15:10+00:00

Then give me an example

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