In computer modeling, a stochastic model is one based on probabilities. For example, say you are modeling the number of people in a park. At any given moment, there is a probability that someone will enter, and a probability that someone will end. If you know the probabilities for these (presumably based on the time of day) then you can accurately model the population in the park.
Of course, this is a trivial example, because you're more likely to know how many people are there than the probability that somone will walk in at 8:33 pm. But anyway, the point is that if you know the individual probabilities of a suite of events, by modeling them repeatedly and doing some very basic statistics on the results, you can get a pretty good idea of how those events relate and how the system as a whole works. So, I'm saying that God set down strict rules (such as weight = g*m1*m2/d^2, how much a proton masses, etc) but left room for what we percieve as unpredictability (quantum mechanics). In fact, I personally believe that without quantum mechanics we would have no free will, and I think free will is the point. But that's probably fodder for another post. :-) --BenD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 Signup for the Fusion Authority news alert and keep up with the latest news in ColdFusion and related topics. http://www.fusionauthority.com/signup.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
