[joe_the_user]

I've heard of this phenomena from "The User Illusion"[1], so it was known of (in less detail) years before 2008.

And the thing about it is, the idea that a person reaches a decision unconsciously several moments before they consciously "feel" they "make the decision" is threatening to the idea of "free will"

But what exactly is being threatened? Does a person expect their decision to reached without any physical precursors? Do they expect one magic addition of pros and cons to be registered at the moment they subjectively experience "a decision"? I'm using hyperbole not to discount the importance of this phenomena but to highlight how you have a "highly value experience" that is simultaneously extremely vague. Psychologists would do well to study why people value such experiences.

[1] The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size, Tor Nørretranders, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/106732.The_User_Illusion