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 The "Pascal's Wager" Wager
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard

USA
4574 Posts

Posted - 07/27/2005 :  19:10:16  Show Profile Send H. Humbert a Private Message
Ok, this is something I snagged from another forum but I thought it was fun. Plus, all of you here tend to be very creative.

Basically the person who comes up with the most humorous variation, riff, or observation on Pascal's Wager "wins." The previous winner was: Pascal is going to hell regardless. Gambling is a sin.

And my own take on it: But if you want to make some really big money, the odds on 'Imahatohepone's Wager' that god is actually a snake-headed tiger that eats children is currently at 4,697,295,235,652.45 to 1.


Ok, now someone else give it a try.


"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman

"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie

Edited by - H. Humbert on 07/27/2005 19:13:25

dv82matt
SFN Regular

760 Posts

Posted - 07/27/2005 :  20:34:07   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send dv82matt a Private Message
quote:
But if you want to make some really big money, the odds on 'Imahatohepone's Wager' that god is actually a snake-headed tiger that eats children is currently at 4,697,295,235,652.45 to 1.
Good one! Let me try:

Pascal's Wager? Nah... I prefer to play poker. It's more honest.

Howzat?
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Trish
SFN Addict

USA
2102 Posts

Posted - 07/27/2005 :  22:08:05   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Trish a Private Message
Pascal's Wager? What's the wager again, will a buck cover it?

...no one has ever found a 4.5 billion year old stone artifact (at the right geological stratum) with the words "Made by God."
No Sense of Obligation by Matt Young

"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith. I consider the capacity for it terrifying and vile!"
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

They (Women Marines) don't have a nickname, and they don't need one. They get their basic training in a Marine atmosphere, at a Marine Post. They inherit the traditions of the Marines. They are Marines.
LtGen Thomas Holcomb, USMC
Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1943
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard

USA
3739 Posts

Posted - 07/28/2005 :  14:41:04   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit marfknox's Homepage  Send marfknox an AOL message Send marfknox a Private Message
"Pascal is going to hell regardless. Gambling is a sin."

LOL!

Pascal's Wager, because a lifetime of fear, self-delusion and sexual repression is nothing lost.

"It is better for you to be free of fear lying upon a pallet,than to have a golden couch and a rich table and be full of trouble." -Epicurus


"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong

Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com

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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 07/28/2005 :  15:53:45   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message
Pascal'e Wager: When in doubt, drink the Kool Aid.

I find it a little sad that Blaise Pascal is at all remembered for his writings after he drank the Kool Aid. He was one of the great thinkers of his age.


"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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marfknox
SFN Die Hard

USA
3739 Posts

Posted - 07/28/2005 :  19:10:31   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit marfknox's Homepage  Send marfknox an AOL message Send marfknox a Private Message
Skeptics rock. Who else would refer to a spiritual experience as drinking the Kool Aid? *sigh of content*

Thanks, Filthy, for bringing it up. I didn't even know Pascal made major contributions to science.

That said, the wager is still fun to make fun of, and I hope this contest continues.

"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong

Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com

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Trish
SFN Addict

USA
2102 Posts

Posted - 07/28/2005 :  20:52:12   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Trish a Private Message
Hydraulic theory is where I first came across Blaise Pascal. Had to read about hydraulics in order to write maintenance manuals on maintaining hydraulics systems. Interesting stuff.

...no one has ever found a 4.5 billion year old stone artifact (at the right geological stratum) with the words "Made by God."
No Sense of Obligation by Matt Young

"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith. I consider the capacity for it terrifying and vile!"
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

They (Women Marines) don't have a nickname, and they don't need one. They get their basic training in a Marine atmosphere, at a Marine Post. They inherit the traditions of the Marines. They are Marines.
LtGen Thomas Holcomb, USMC
Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1943
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 07/29/2005 :  05:16:56   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by marfknox

Skeptics rock. Who else would refer to a spiritual experience as drinking the Kool Aid? *sigh of content*

Thanks, Filthy, for bringing it up. I didn't even know Pascal made major contributions to science.

That said, the wager is still fun to make fun of, and I hope this contest continues.

And I.

Pascal has long been something of an inspiration for me. One of the towering intellects, until, in the latter years of his too-short life, he drank the Kool-Aid and from that point on wrote little more than church apologetics of which the Wager(s) was a part. This, from a contempary of and corespondent with Fermat. Sad.

For anyone not aquainted with the "Drink the Kool-Aid" term (it's actually from the '70s), it refers to the favorite and final tipple of the suicidal Jonestown cult. Today, it is used as a sort of shirt-tail synonym for religious insanity. Quite apt, I think.

Pascal's Wager: A coin gambled upon the gilded words of priests is a surer bet than one invested in reality. John Edward trumps Albert Einstein.


"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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Siberia
SFN Addict

Brazil
2322 Posts

Posted - 07/29/2005 :  06:33:43   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Siberia's Homepage  Send Siberia an AOL message  Send Siberia a Yahoo! Message Send Siberia a Private Message
Pascal's Wager: it's hopeless. The Temple always wins.

"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa

"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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dv82matt
SFN Regular

760 Posts

Posted - 07/31/2005 :  11:17:40   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send dv82matt a Private Message
Don't be misled by Pascal's Wager.
Bet instead, on Occam's Razor.
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend

Sweden
9687 Posts

Posted - 07/31/2005 :  12:00:50   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Dr. Mabuse an ICQ Message Send Dr. Mabuse a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by dv82matt

Don't be misled by Pascal's Wager.
Bet instead, on Occam's Razor.


"Don't be misled by
Pascal's Wager, bet instead,
on Occam's Razor."

Look what we have here... A HAIKU!


Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3

"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse

Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder.
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dv82matt
SFN Regular

760 Posts

Posted - 07/31/2005 :  18:59:15   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send dv82matt a Private Message
lol

You made my day with this.

I've always had a rather odd inability to write in haiku.

Pascal's Wager: So um... when do I collect my winnings?
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 07/31/2005 :  19:49:38   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by dv82matt

lol

You made my day with this.

I've always had a rather odd inability to write in haiku.

Pascal's Wager: So um... when do I collect my winnings?

Well done, matt!

But alas, with Pascal's wager, you only win if you lose, so, never...


"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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dv82matt
SFN Regular

760 Posts

Posted - 07/31/2005 :  21:33:01   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send dv82matt a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by filthy

But alas, with Pascal's wager, you only win if you lose, so, never...
Never?! But... but... I bet my mortal life on it! I'm beginning to feel slightly cheated.

Pascal's Wager - because being cheated builds character.
Edited by - dv82matt on 07/31/2005 21:33:59
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moakley
SFN Regular

USA
1888 Posts

Posted - 08/01/2005 :  05:19:30   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send moakley a Private Message
"Pascal's Wager" because keeping it simple appeals to the target audience.

Life is good

Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. -Anonymous
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 08/01/2005 :  06:21:47   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message
Pascal's Wager: Life's a bitch and then you die. Therefore it makes more sense to pursue jolly Will o' the Wisp than savor the natural world.


"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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