tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post3390267342644060616..comments2024-03-28T02:54:46.537-04:00Comments on The TOF Spot: The Argument from ChanceTheOFloinnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756711106266484327noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-43117698493584688612013-05-09T05:20:34.062-04:002013-05-09T05:20:34.062-04:00A purpose may exist whether or not it can clearly ...A purpose may exist whether or not it can clearly (as in easily seen and understood) be discerned. The beautiful complexity of the universe makes it very likely that the purpose behind it is hard to grasp. That's why I still have a job as a scientist! So when a person is having trouble seeing the purpose behind the randomness of the universe, they should not take their own difficulty as evidence that there is no purpose. It is far more readily a proof of our own ignorance and limitations than anything else.TalmidOfYeshuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10803313595226027590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-43005996425284025792013-05-09T05:12:57.392-04:002013-05-09T05:12:57.392-04:00Just found this via a rabbit trail from Mark Shea....Just found this via a rabbit trail from Mark Shea. This is a great thought presented in a skillfully made analogy! Also, it reminded me of what Paul said.<br /><br />Acts 17:26-27 (CJB) "From one man he made every nation living on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the limits of their territories and the periods when they would flourish. (27) God did this so that people would look for him and perhaps reach out and find him although in fact, he is not far from each one of us..."<br /><br />As for the purpose of the randomness of the universe (uncertainty?). Ecclesiastes deals with the subject profoundly. From reflecting on its words, I wonder if the purpose behind randomness is an inverted version of what the casino aims at. The casino is designed to take advantage of our desire to win in order to keep us from winning. What if the randomness of life is meant to show us that we can't win, and in so doing teach us that it is actually our desire to win (gain control?) itself that is all wrong? It seems some of us are rather averse to learning that lesson!TalmidOfYeshuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10803313595226027590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-72055355167783299412012-11-29T23:23:36.539-05:002012-11-29T23:23:36.539-05:00Purpose requires a (at least partial) ordering rel...Purpose requires a (at least partial) ordering relationship over a set of choices; randomness at a lower level can result from a higher-level random distribution over the choice set of {random, non-random}.<br /><br />I suspect a rigorous discussion would require dragging out some large cardinalities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-11080494499463905322012-11-29T12:57:01.366-05:002012-11-29T12:57:01.366-05:00What are the odds on a married bachelor? What are the odds on a married bachelor? TheOFloinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14756711106266484327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-35130845885046257552012-11-29T01:01:32.346-05:002012-11-29T01:01:32.346-05:00Zero. Now show us the nothingness, and we can gaug...Zero. Now show us the nothingness, and we can gauge the relevance of the question.Tom Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16067031472666752839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-44381392401933438802012-11-29T00:52:41.702-05:002012-11-29T00:52:41.702-05:00What are the odds a creator would arise out of not...What are the odds a creator would arise out of nothingness? Walthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00928271919273796598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-73203603002512060102012-11-28T16:09:48.864-05:002012-11-28T16:09:48.864-05:00I suppose that there are certain vital natural pro...I suppose that there are certain vital natural processes that would not work without randomness, like quantum mechanics or natural selection. The point remains that to achieve randomness requires purposeful activity. As to <i>why</i> one may purpose randomness, that is a different question.TheOFloinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14756711106266484327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-36566134545753932892012-11-28T13:31:05.057-05:002012-11-28T13:31:05.057-05:00But the casino has a clear purpose to the randomne...But the casino has a clear purpose to the randomness. There does not seem any clear purpose to the randomness of the universe.Verl Humpheryshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10131385915080884257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-14777917522484663262012-11-27T19:40:48.553-05:002012-11-27T19:40:48.553-05:00Reminds me of the problem with the "Chinese R...Reminds me of the problem with the "Chinese Room" thesis: even if the guy in the room doesn't understand Chinese, the thing which built it had to have. Could the laws of chance happen by chance?Stephen J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17731801189076630997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-7011013523795211482012-11-27T19:15:07.472-05:002012-11-27T19:15:07.472-05:00Wow, what a freak. I came by to post a link to an ...Wow, what a freak. I came by to post a link to an xkcd comic about statisticians discussing chance and I find this article. What's the chance of that? <br /><br /> http://xkcd.com/1132/Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13750763393428404220noreply@blogger.com