Going loco

Thomas the Tank Engine is in trouble. He has persuaded another engine to let him have a go at pulling wagons. But as he comes downhill into the station where he is supposed to stop, the wagons keep pushing him on. He only finally comes to a halt when he hits the buffersA bumper stopping trains from travelling too far..

The journalist Matyas Moravec sees Thomas as a way to understand a difficult question. Are we free to make our own decisions about how we live our lives?

Thomas is an engine who behaves like a human. He can make choices, and has to take the blame when he does something wrong.

But he can only move by following the tracks. So perhaps he does not really have free will.

People who do not believe in free will say that the world follows the laws of physics. For example, a kettle left on a hot stove has to boil.

This theory says that as physical objects made of atomsThe smallest unit of any chemical element. and moleculesTwo or more atoms connected by chemical bonds., we have to follow the same laws. Everything we do stems from something that happened at the beginning of the universe.

But if this is the case, why should Thomas be blamed when things go wrong?

One answer is that though bad things are bound to happen, we are to blame if we help in some way, even just by being careless. 

But Moravec asks another question: what would the universe be like if nothing had to happen?

He believes that it would be "too open to alternatives... too chaotic".

Too much choice can simply be overwhelming. In an experiment, one group of shoppers was shown 24 different jams, and a second group just six jams.¹ Only 3% of the first group bought one, while 30% of the second did.

Making your decision is not always the end of the problem. If you have chosen from many alternatives, you may worry that your choice was the wrong one, and wish you had gone for another.

Yes: It is much easier to make a decision if your options are limited. It means that you can think about all of them carefully and be confident that you are making the best possible choice.

No: There is no such thing as too much choice. Everybody has different tastes, and it would be brilliant if all of them were catered for.    

Or... It is not half as stressful as having too little choice. During World War TwoA global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945 and included all of the great powers. , for example, food and clothes were strictly rationed and people had to be grateful for whatever they could get.