河國榮, An Aussie in Hong Kong

There is no such thing as random. Rather, random is an ordered order, the order of which is beyond our comprehension.

Within the world, everything is the direct consequence of another action and this is true down to the very smallest of the physical and atomic and sub-atomic world. We think things happen randomly because we can't explain them. We use probability to calculate the chances that an outcome will occur but the outcome will in fact be a sure thing if we understand all of the factors involved.

Do people have free will? On the surface, yes. In reality, no. People are chemical and electrical machines. Our feelings are the results of the environment in which we live, combined with the chemical makeup of our bodies. Our thoughts are electrical and everything within our minds is a result of what we've seen or heard. We appear to have free will because we appear to have a choice. In reality, the choice was made before it was shown to us and our decision was never really a free decision.

In science fiction (and non-fiction) circles, people talk about parallel universes. The concept of parallel universes is based on the concept of random outcomes, that even every microscopic movement of air can lead to countless random outcomes. Consequently, all of those outcomes are actually occurring, all at the same time but in different zones of the 'space time continuum'. If random is a fallacy, then so is the notion of parallel universes.

Unfortunately, if random is a fallacy, then so is choice and decision. For many people, that would be the equivalent of fateism and that would in turn lead to apathy. In todays world, that wouldn't be a good thing so it's probably better that most people don't understand the truth about random.