Perspectives on chance related to the I Ching

[wandelaar]

@ Michael Sternbach

 

There is absolutely no possibility to influence the binary representation of pi by means of your or anybody else his individual mind be it intuitive or otherwise. That is the crucial difference between throwing the I Ching for say the next 20 consultations by means of the binary representation of pi and throwing the I Ching for the next 20 consultations by means of coins. In the case of coins there could be psychokinesis at work, but in the case of using the binary representation of pi even psychokinesis is powerless.

 

You are free to accept or not accept the results of a consultation, but doing the experiment involves interpreting the hexagrams as if they were produced by means of coins, and only afterwards evaluating whether using the binary representation of pi worked just as good as the good old coins. This is something every I Ching user can do at home, but it will only work when approached with an open mind. You have to at least leave open the possibility that the pi-method might work.

 

Perhaps the experiment can be improved so that the I Ching user doesn't know which method is used when? But such considerations belong to the other topic.  

Edited July 17, 2018 by wandelaar

[Michael Sternbach]

There seems to be some fundamental miscommunication happening here. I am not suggesting that psychokinesis plays a role in the throwing of the coins. What I am saying is that the process is under the guidance of 'something' that knows how to throw the coins so that they would land a certain way. And that 'something' is incomprehensible for the (linear) mind, so I can't tell you how it's doing what it's doing, I am afraid.

[wandelaar]

Ah - I see. A theory that consists of the assumption that the process is under the guidance of 'something' that knows how to throw the coins so that they would land a certain way and where that 'something' is incomprehensible for the (linear) mind must indeed stop right there. By definition it cannot amount to anything more because it's a "closed door" as far as science or even common sense is concerned. This position might be the end point after trying all you can to understand the working of the I Ching, but as I am only starting to research the working of the I Ching I prefer to leave open the possibility that it can be explained.

 

My impression until now is that most I Ching users simply don't want to know how it works, because they don't want to spoil the mystery. 

 

But I am again getting into debate here, and that's not why I started this topic. What I wanted to know is whether there are any sensible perspectives on chance apart from the usual western approaches. We already have:

 

1. One such perspective is that what we call chance is really the work of an incomprehensible 'something' that is (al least sometimes) trying to help us.

 

2. Another is that behind (some?) apparent random events actually "resonance"  ganying is at work.

 

Are there any further alternative perspectives besides?

Edited July 18, 2018 by wandelaar