Einstein said “God does not play dice.” But at the smallest scales of the universe, to the best of our knowledge, we think he does. And that’s the best we can do — take what we believe to be true today and act accordingly.

So God plays with dice, and people crave certainty. Our need for certainty in a probabilistic world is evidence that either God has a sense of humor — or is an insurance agent.

Gambling and games of chance can teach us something about how to live in a probabilistic world. Since the rules of the game are known, odds can be calculated.

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