What goes on in my head
Canada 
I think that behavior is a product of evolution just as much as biological structures are; it's just harder to observe because the rules become more flexible. But as belief systems and cultural norms develop, they are passed from person to person, being modified (consciously or unconsciously) by the recipient, and subject to random variations in the form of misunderstandings and miscommunication. In essence, despite having no physical form beyond the activity of neurons, these sorts of ideas spread (reproduce), changing as they go, subject to selection pressures (e.g. popularity) and random mutation. All the same starting conditions that result in the evolution of biological organisms also exist for human ideas.
The biggest difference, at least in terms of our popular conception of thought, is that ideas can come from nowhere. It's an integral part of our common perception of free will -- if we truly have free will, then our thoughts cannot be a deterministic process; they must be things we can simply 'will' into being. Which is exactly what they feel like to us.
But it's not what the available evidence tells us. Brain scan studies were able to detect decisions being made in a person's brain before the person in question became consciously aware of them. Magicians design their tricks around taking advantage of the predictability of people's attention focusing and thought processes when given certain cues. Researchers like George Bassalla have assembled a highly convincing array of evidence that human technology is not designed in a flash of inspiration, but by incremental improvements and creative recombinations of existing technologies.
I suspect that our thoughts are no different. Rather than creating thoughts through "will", our thoughts are triggered -- by other thoughts, by our memories, by the stimuli around us, or even by a temporary fluctuation in neurochemical production in the brain. It's the sheer number of different (often unconscious) influences combined with the flexibility of (conscious) thought that makes it difficult to see the process of thinking as a deterministic one. But every idea we have is some kind of recombination of pre-existing ideas and external influences, formed by the decisionmaking processes in our brains. Creativity, then, is not the property of being able to come up with truly unprecedented ideas; it is the property of being able to combine parts of existing ideas in a new and unique way, creating something new by building on (and reworking) ideas that have come before. Or, put another way, by interbreeding.
And free will? Well, we still have it, it just isn't what we thought -- it's not arbitrary or independent. We still choose to think and do things, but our choices are based in a very complex, but ultimately deterministic way by what we know, what we feel, what we remember, and what we experience.
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Lè Vanilla - Team Furtress 2 - Public
Welcome to the Lè Vanilla TF2 Gaming Community
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Le Vanilla is a TF2 community that we want to build upon the following premises: Friendship, fun, enjoyment, and good competitive nature. We want to run the -best- vanilla TF2 servers. We want to cater to the regulars who play this game day in and day out and we want to create a strong community where people will genuinely enjoy the time they spend on our servers. If you want to enjoy a high quality gaming experience among a group of friends, then come and join us in vent, in chat, and in game. We have a lot to offer, and welcome your skill and personality that you can bring to the table.
Public Servers (66 tick | 500 FPS)
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Le Vanilla #1 :: Plain Vanilla
IP - 66.207.171.243:27015
STV - 66.207.171.243:27020
Le Vanilla #2 :: No Crits, No Spread
IP - 66.207.171.245:27015
STV - 66.207.171.245:27020
Ammomod Server (66 tick | 500 FPS)
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Le Vanilla #3 :: Ammomod, Practice
IP - 66.207.171.246:27015
STV - 66.207.171.246:27020
PUG Servers (66 tick | 1000 FPS)
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Lè Vanilla #4 :: PUGs, Competitive
IP - 66.207.171.244:27015
STV - 66.207.171.244:27020
Vent:
IP - vent29.gameservers.com
Port - 5113
Password - funstuff
Come in and join us!!!
Server Rules:
1. Don't be a dumbass.
2. Don't mic. spam.
3. If you're warned, don't do it again.
4. Don't force auto-balance like an asshole. Playing with your friends is cool, so is beating the shit out of them. If your friends can't handle losing to you, you guys should look into marriage counseling.
5. Spraying porn images, silly stuff, etc. is fine. You shouldn't be 12 if you're playing on these servers.
6. Claiming everyone is hacking and getting upset will not look good on yourself, and people will not respect that you give up so easily in trying to overcome an obstacle. This server will have better players than a common 24/7 instant respawn pub server. If you feel that you can't keep up, and are getting -too- upset to keep playing, go play on another server, cool off, and come back later. We will not tolerate constant complaining. You get better by losing, it's that simple!
Chat Rules:
1. Don't have sex in the channel LOL.
2. You can post porn, others may click at their own risk. (Please provide NSFW tags.)
3. You won't get banned for saying, nigga you crazy; however excessive amounts of offensive words regarding race, or using them in a very offensive manner, will get you warned or kicked.
4. No spamming.
5. Have a fun time in the chat and respect the admins
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