> But while the early ego-depletion concepts appear to be flawed, experts say that self-control can wax or wane for a number of predictable reasons.
and
> Inzlicht says that no matter what a person does, willpower is going to be a fickle commodity. It’s heavily influenced by many variables, and so it really cannot be trusted. “There are easier, less-muscular ways to engage in goal-directed behavior than relying on willpower,” he says.
They show that willpower comes and goes for many reasons, but it is not a limited resource. You can't "use it up" in the morning, and thinking that way will lead you to actually having less willpower in the evenings even though you could have plenty!
The original "science" is hard to accept & so is the rebuttal. In cases like these I defer to anecdata and that tells me what you'd call my willpower is finite.
I like to believe that willpower is like a muscle - it takes work to build it up, and you need to maintain it. Though unlike the human body's limitations, I agree that it can be nearly unlimited.
> But while the early ego-depletion concepts appear to be flawed, experts say that self-control can wax or wane for a number of predictable reasons.
and
> Inzlicht says that no matter what a person does, willpower is going to be a fickle commodity. It’s heavily influenced by many variables, and so it really cannot be trusted. “There are easier, less-muscular ways to engage in goal-directed behavior than relying on willpower,” he says.
Close enough for most purposes, really.