Randomness in the Cosmos

Abstract

AbstractAfter an introduction of the concepts of randomness and determinacy, I present simple definitions of ‘random number or variable’ or ‘random event’, ‘pseudo-random numbers’, ‘stochastic process’, ‘chance’ and ‘probability’, ‘determinism’ (or ‘deterministic process’), and ‘chaos’. I then proceed to review the different cosmic processes and phenomena where randomness plays an important role. In all these types of processes, I show that there is an underlying “order”, in that there’s a probability distribution for the frequency of such events, the sizes of the objects under consideration, and so on. I conclude with some thoughts on randomness and order in the world and divine providence.