[MD] Choosing Chance

[John Carl]

Arlo,

Methinks you're using some rhetorical ambiguity in the name "chance" to make
your points, but hey, who am I to point my finger at any moon?

I'd say there's a zero chance of me eating a bowl of broccoli ice cream
today.  But I could still make it my choice.  Choice is unconstrained by
chance and yet chance is entirely determined by choice.

For instance, if I truly choose broc ice cream, I'll look up other ice cream
recipes, I'll assemble the ingredients, even if I have to plant some
broccoli and then wait patiently, I'll do so in order to attain my choice
and all the actions I take in the service of my choice, increase my chance
of attaining my choice.


And even if I really try, there's a small chance I won't get what I want.
But regardless of chance, my choice remains the same.

Like the preacher sez:

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race [is] not to the swift, nor
the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to
men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and
chancehappeneth to them all.


See?  That's the way the world is.  If it wasn't the way the world was, the
race would always go to the swift.

Saying "yeah, but what if we lived in a mechanistic universe?"  And I say,
"Yeah, what if the moon was made of green cheese."

It's not and we don't.



> Speaking of unusual but yummy ice-creams, I've also had certain dark stouts
> and porters served as a topping to vanilla ice cream. Very good! I've also
> grown fond of chili-infused dark-chocolate, something I would've sworn years
> ago I would never eat. Ah, freedom and chance!


Most people my neck of the woods have never heard of shandy and they screw
up their faces when I mention soda pop and beer.  But after a taste,  "hmm
That's not bad!"  Wouldn't do it with a real beer, but most of the coors
light swill drunk around here is little more than soda pop already,

And spicy chocolate?  There's another thing we agree on.  Probably has
something to do with our fading aged jaded taste buds in our declining
years.

jaded John