July 01, 2014 at 05:07PM
"A statistical ensemble of people acting randomly often displays behavior consistent w/ a group of people pursuing conscious goals." #readingToday

In fact, a statistical ensemble of people acting randomly often displays behavior as consistent and predictable as a group of people pursuing conscious goals. Or as the philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote in 1784, "Each, according to his own inclination follows his own purpose, often in opposition to others; yet each individual and people, as if following some guiding thread, go toward a natural but to each of them unknown goal; all work toward furthering it, even if they would set little store by it if they did know it."

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Affects our Lives, Leonard Mlodinow