Friday, December 17, 2010

A Poet Considers Probability

Probability: A Poet's View


Hey, if something happens, didn't it
have a 100% chance of happening--
apparently?  I mean, math's fun, but
most variables don't get
noticed until after occurrence: The
coin lay on the table heads-up.
Something someone said affected
the force of the flip. Witnesses

would later agree an impulse of
destiny passed through the place,
palpable, like a whiff of cordite.

Having factored in everything,
if we could have done so early,
we'd dispense with Pascal, Fermat,
and numbers, plus their accessories,
such as parentheses and arrowheads.

Our equation would read, "Of course--
oh, absolutely--it will happen."


Copyright 2010 Hans Ostrom

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