Sparked by a remark made by Kristi Vogel on blogging with images, here is one that’s been hovering at the back of my photo collection.
Does God play dice?
Apparently, despite Einstein’s objections, the deity is a bit of a gambler. What is disturbing is that this picture was taken in Palermo, Sicily last summer so it seems He may have been gambling with the mafia. ‘The discovery of the enormous dice at the water’s edge surrounded by concrete blocks was a possible indicator of foul play,’ said police.
Actually, Stephen, I don’t think Einstein would be too worried about this, as there seems little evidence of random probabilistic outcomes with these particular dice. I think there are definite hidden variables.
@Brian – I’m afraid the subtlety of your thought is lost on me this morning (slow start) – what’s wrong with the dice? In any case, I am more concerned about the deity, who may be ‘sleeping with the fishes’…
This is Italy, so doesn’t it suggest that the Flying Spaghetti Monster plays dice?
Hmm – but are you sure he could grip them with his noodly appendages?
If those are the size of the dice, I’d hate to see the retaliatory horse’s head…
Einstein said that God does not play Dice
With human fates, at least not with the Earth.
But need he not contrive, with artifice,
To find some games of greater moral worth?
If not dice, what? I guess he could play chess
Or Scrabble(TM), hopscotch: yea, Monopoly?
Trivial Pursuit(TM), and one might guess
He plays golf on a nice Nintendo Wii(TM)?
The question, then is not itself the game,
But his companions, those who share the table.
If such exist, a Manichean frame
Of reference might persist. Let’s hope he’s able
To win the game, and not sleep with the fishes.
He may be subtle, but he’s not malicious.
Or, maybe Einstein was right and the dice are there, forgotten and discarded, because they were not being played with.
@Stephen – I’m afraid the subtlety of your thought is lost on me this morning (slow start) – what’s wrong with the dice?
Einstein’s problem with quantum theory that resulted in the dice comment was that he couldn’t believe that properties of particles were randomly generated on a probabilistic basis. He felt that there were ‘hidden variables’ – these properties had values all along, which were revealed at the time a measurement was taken. I was suggesting that the dice in the picture have had the values shown all along, rather than randomly reaching those values as a result of a toss – so they are dice that Einstein would be happy with.
@Brian – Gosh that was a bit subtle! Though I’m bound to point out that it was Einstein who introduced the dice metaphor – not me!
Now, if we could have your answer in verse…?
Please be so good as to make it quite terse.