Free Tal, a conversation with an alien by Anonymous Page A

wind, your exact muscle strength, the angle you throw the dice at, the softness of the table, can't we in fact know the exact number that will come up?  Isn't it more a lack of information than pure randomness?
    L ack of information can be perceived as randomness; the information is out there, but we simply do not have a way to gather enough of it to make a correct decision. This is actually the type of randomness most humans believe in. This is why in betting on sports or making decisions about the future, humans try to gather as much information as possible. They believe that the uncertainty comes from their lack of information. They believe that if they knew all the facts, there would be no randomness, the same thing would happen every single time. But in the micro world of quantum effects, there is no hidden knowledge, it is simply, physically impossible to know. All things around you are vibrating fields of probability. They only appear definite because you observe them on the macro scale.
    I understand, but you have still not explained the reason for the randomness. I suppose this is one of those “why” questions science has no answer to.
    Actually, there are many answers to this question. Philosophical, mystical and scientific. Without randomness, there would be no evolution, no life, and no variety. It is the random nature of the universe that manifests the variety in your world. As living beings, we are children of this process and are naturally attracted to it. We find it, beautiful. Dynamic changing systems are attractive to life. Think of the most beautiful and varied places on your planet, they are often the most dynamic, teeming with life, change and flow. These things bring variety and interest. The frozen tundra or empty desert is not usually the most popular vacation spot. If everything behaved in the same fashion, without variety, your universe would be very different.
    Couldn't these changes be guided and not r andom, say controlled by a God? He could have some master plan, but we wouldn't necessarily know it because it appears random.
    You are right, and on a theological level, the quantum mechanical model gives God a different role than in traditional religions. In a non-random, deterministic universe, God controls all changes and all events. In a randomly generated universe, God could create a framework of initial laws, and then let the universe unfold without needing to actually micro manage the system. The inherent randomness will continue to generate an infinite amount of interesting variations. In essence, God, the Universe, Mother Nature, whatever you call it, changes from a puppet master to an observer. 
    Is God even necessary then? I know that many scientists have claimed he is not. After all, who needs an observer?
    It is only natural , don't you think, that the high priests of a scientific paradigm that prides itself on understanding the world without faith or belief, would at some point come to that conclusion? 
    --He had finished his bottle of juice , took another and continued.
    D o you know the ancient Greek story of Icarus?
    Yes, his fa ther attached wings to his body in an attempt to escape from the island of Crete. He flew higher and higher, ignoring his father's warning not to fly too high. He flew too close to the sun. The heat melted his wings off, and he fell to his death.
    It is an interesting story that is often told to warn people of the penalty of over confidence or hubris. One interpretation of the story could be that Icarus used technology to fly. When he did so, he flew too close to the heavens.  As he flew higher and higher, the Sun melted his technology, and he died. In a sense, an inherently random universe acts like the Sun, protecting the knowledge of the gods. Remember that not too long ago, scientists believed that if they had the proper tools and technology, they would know the position and speed of any single particle. If they just knew all the facts, they could