Flipism, sometimes spelled "flippism", is a
pseudophilosophy
Pseudophilosophy is a term applied to a philosophical idea or system which does not meet an expected set of philosophical standards. There is no universally accepted set of standards, but there are similarities and some common ground.
Definitions ...
under which
decisions are made by
flipping a coin. It originally appeared in the ''
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
''
Disney comic "
Flip Decision
"Flip Decision" is a Donald Duck comic book story written and illustrated by Carl Barks in June 1952. Like many other Barks stories, it was originally untitled. In the story, Donald becomes an adherent of a philosophy of life called flipism, in ...
" by
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McD ...
, published in 1953. Barks called a practitioner of "flipism" a "flippist".
An actual coin is not necessary: dice or another
random generator
Random number generation is a process by which, often by means of a random number generator (RNG), a sequence of numbers or symbols that cannot be reasonably predicted better than by random chance is generated. This means that the particular ou ...
may be used for decision making.
Flipism can be seen as a
normative
Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A norm in ...
decision theory
Decision theory (or the theory of choice; not to be confused with choice theory) is a branch of applied probability theory concerned with the theory of making decisions based on assigning probabilities to various factors and assigning numerical ...
, although it does not fulfill the criteria of
rationality
Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an ab ...
.
History
In the original 1952 comic book,
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
meets the eccentric Professor Batty, who persuades Donald to make decisions based on flipping a coin at every crossroad of life: "Life is but a gamble! Let flipism chart your ramble!" Donald soon gets into trouble when following this advice. He drives a one way road in the wrong direction and is fined $50. The reason for the fine is not his bad driving, but rather the fact that he relied on a coin to do his thinking instead of deciding for himself.
In decision-making
Flipism is a normative
decision theory
Decision theory (or the theory of choice; not to be confused with choice theory) is a branch of applied probability theory concerned with the theory of making decisions based on assigning probabilities to various factors and assigning numerical ...
in a sense that it prescribes how decisions should be made. In the comic, flipism shows remarkable ability to make right conclusions without any information—but only once in a while. In reality, flipping a coin would only lead to random decisions. However, there is an article about benefits of some
randomness
In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of pattern or predictability in events. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Individual rand ...
in the decision-making process in certain conditions. It notes:
Though the author himself may have intended this as a rejection of the idea that rationality (in the standard sense) has some special claim to superiority as a basis for making decisions, what he may really have discovered are the potential benefits of strategic commitment to randomization.
Commitment to a non-trivial mixed strategy can be beneficial for the informed party in a potential conflict under asymmetric information, as it allows the player to manipulate his opponent’s beliefs in an optimal fashion. Such a strategy also makes the player less inclined to enter into conflict when it is avoidable. Coins and "flipism" have been used to suggest mathematical outcomes to a variation of the "
prisoners dilemma
The Prisoner's Dilemma is an example of a game analyzed in game theory. It is also a thought experiment that challenges two completely rational agents to a dilemma: cooperate with their partner for mutual reward, or betray their partner ("defe ...
".
Another way of seeing the utility of flipism in decision-making can be called "
revealed preference
Revealed preference theory, pioneered by economist Paul Anthony Samuelson in 1938, is a method of analyzing choices made by individuals, mostly used for comparing the influence of policies on consumer behavior. Revealed preference models assume th ...
s". In the traditional form, revealed preferences mean that the preferences of consumers can be revealed by their purchasing habits. With flipism, the preferences can be revealed to the decision-maker themselves. Decisions with conflicting preferences are especially difficult even in situations where there is only one decision-maker and no uncertainty. The decision options may be either all appealing or all unpleasant, and therefore the decision-maker is unable to choose. Flipism, ''i.e.'', flipping a coin can be used to find a solution. However, the decision-maker should not decide based on the coin but instead observe their own feelings about the outcome; whether it was relieving or agonizing. In this way, flipism removes the mental block related to the act of decision-making, and the post-decision preferences can be revealed before the decision is actually made. An example of revealed preferences is embodied in the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
story, the "
Judgment of Solomon
The Judgement of Solomon is a story from the Hebrew Bible in which Solomon ruled between two women both claiming to be the mother of a child. Solomon revealed their true feelings and relationship to the child by suggesting the baby be cut in tw ...
", wherein
King Solomon
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...
offered to resolve a
child custody
Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the ri ...
dispute by ordering the baby cut in two, and upon seeing the reactions made an award.
Still a third approach is to look at flipism as the endpoint of a continuum bounded on the other side by perfectly
rational decision-making. Flipism requires the minimum possible cognitive overhead to make decisions, at the price of making sub-optimal choices. Truly rational decision-making requires a tremendous investment in information and cognition to arrive at an optimal decision. However, the expected
marginal value A marginal value is
#a value that holds true given particular constraints,
#the ''change'' in a value associated with a specific change in some independent variable, whether it be of that variable or of a dependent variable, or
# hen underlying val ...
of information gathered (discounted for risk and uncertainty) is often lower than the
marginal cost
In economics, the marginal cost is the change in the total cost that arises when the quantity produced is incremented, the cost of producing additional quantity. In some contexts, it refers to an increment of one unit of output, and in others it ...
of the information or processing itself. The concept of
bounded rationality
Bounded rationality is the idea that rationality is limited when individuals make decisions, and under these limitations, rational individuals will select a decision that is satisfactory rather than optimal.
Limitations include the difficulty o ...
posits that people employ
cognitive parsimony, gathering only what they expect to be sufficient information to arrive at a
satisficing
Satisficing is a decision-making strategy or cognitive heuristic that entails searching through the available alternatives until an acceptability threshold is met. The term ''satisficing'', a portmanteau of ''satisfy'' and ''suffice'', was introduc ...
(or "good enough") solution. Flipism is therefore a rational strategy to employ when the cost of information is very high relative to its expected value, and using it is an example of
motivated tactical thinking.
This is a commonly recognized
decision making
In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either ra ...
technique used in everyday life. Other similar methods include:
*
Coin flipping
Coin flipping, coin tossing, or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air and checking which side is showing when it lands, in order to choose between two alternatives, heads or tails, sometimes used to resolve a dispute betwe ...
, cutting a deck of playing cards,
finding a quotation in a holy book, consulting a
Magic 8-ball
The Magic 8 Ball is a plastic sphere, made to look like an oversized , that is used for fortune-telling or seeking advice. It was invented in 1946 by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman and is currently manufactured by Mattel. The user asks a yes� ...
, or rolling a die.
* Accepting the first option that seems like it might achieve the desired result (known as "
satisficing
Satisficing is a decision-making strategy or cognitive heuristic that entails searching through the available alternatives until an acceptability threshold is met. The term ''satisficing'', a portmanteau of ''satisfy'' and ''suffice'', was introduc ...
"), given the marginal effort involved in trying to process the information and optimize the result.
*
Astrology
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
,
augury
Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. When the individual, known as the augur, interpreted these signs, it is referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" (Latin ''aus ...
,
fortune cookies
A fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary cookie wafer usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a piece of paper inside, a "fortune", usually an aphorism, or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chin ...
,
prayer
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...
,
tarot cards
The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...
,
revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
,
methods of divination or other forms of
divination
Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history ...
or
oracular devices.
* The "highest paid person's opinion" (HiPPO).
These forms are in contradistinction to
analytics
Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It also entails applying data patterns toward effective decision-making. It ...
, a commonly used method of data-based decision making.
According to Kevin Durand and Mary Leigh, flipism is "a psychological tool, and not an agent of fate".
It is neither a revelation of the wishes of the head of state (''e.g.'',
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
, whose head was on the coin, ''ergo'', heads showed "Caesar's will") nor the divination of a deity's will.
There are those who view the resort to flipism to be a disavowal of responsibility for making personal and societal decisions based upon rationality.
However, in the end, flipism shows surprising efficiency in guiding some decisions.
Similar concepts
In
game theory
Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions among rational agents. Myerson, Roger B. (1991). ''Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict,'' Harvard University Press, p.&nbs1 Chapter-preview links, ppvii–xi It has appli ...
,
negotiations
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement ...
,
nuclear deterrence
Deterrence theory refers to the scholarship and practice of how threats or limited force by one party can convince another party to refrain from initiating some other course of action. The topic gained increased prominence as a military strategy ...
,
diplomacy
Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...
and other
conflict theories
Conflict theories are perspectives in sociology and social psychology that emphasize a materialist interpretation of history, dialectical method of analysis, a critical stance toward existing social arrangements, and political program of revolut ...
—
rationality
Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an ab ...
,
realpolitik
''Realpolitik'' (; ) refers to enacting or engaging in diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly binding itself to explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical ...
or
realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
* Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a mov ...
can themselves limit strategies and results. They can limit the ability of a player to make demands or get its own way through
bluffing,
bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an ...
, instilling fear, causing
apprehension, or
psychologically manipulation or sending a heeded warning and therefore can increase the likelihood that an opposing party may engage in objectionable or unwelcome behavior. If one knows the lines and can predict the response, then
predictability
Predictability is the degree to which a correct prediction or forecast of a system's state can be made, either qualitatively or quantitatively.
Predictability and causality
Causal determinism has a strong relationship with predictability. Per ...
and
proportionality become a restraint, not a
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is morality, moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is Value (ethics), valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that sh ...
. Consequently, "taunting a junkyard dog is OK, if you know you are beyond the reach of its
tether
A tether is a cord, fixture, or flexible attachment that characteristically anchors something movable to something fixed; it also maybe used to connect two movable objects, such as an item being towed by its tow.
Applications for tethers includ ...
."
Thus irrationality (real or perceived) can be an important countervailing tool or strategy, particularly as a
deterrent and if it engenders hesitation, fear, negotiation and resolution, or change of course. However, alternate strategies such as
honesty
Honesty or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness, including straightforwardness of conduct, along with the absence of lying, cheating, th ...
, building a
climate of trust,
respect
Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...
, using
intermediaries
An intermediary (or go-between) is a third party that offers intermediation services between two parties, which involves conveying messages between principals in a dispute, preventing direct contact and potential escalation of the issue. In law ...
,
mediation
Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...
or other forms of
conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abo ...
, sanctions, patience, process, data and reasoning might still be available, as might strategies like so-called
win-win bargaining (also called "interest-based" bargaining) – which tries to reach an accord based on interests, not necessarily on
positions,
power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
,
rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...
or
distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
* Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
*Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
. Another approach is
Cooperative bargaining Cooperative bargaining is a process in which two people decide how to share a surplus that they can jointly generate. In many cases, the surplus created by the two players can be shared in many ways, forcing the players to negotiate which division o ...
and gain sharing.
In popular culture
Flipism is a film
trope
Trope or tropes may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept
* Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device
* Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...
that is used to argue for "the supremacy of free will in a chaotic world".
*''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...
'' villain
Two-Face
Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...
(Harvey Dent) is entirely reliant on flipping his signature coin in order to make decisions due to his inability to decide anything for himself.
* In the 2020 novel 'The Flip Side' by
James Bailey (writer) James Bailey may refer to:
People Academics
* James Bailey (classical scholar) (died 1864), English schoolmaster
* J. O. Bailey (1903–1979), professor of literature
* Jay Bailey (James E. Bailey, 1944–2001), American biochemical engineer and pi ...
, the main character relies on tossing a coin to make all his decisions.
* A record company named "Flippist Records" in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...
, Minnesota.
* The story "Flip Decision" has been a subject of
linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
research about translations from English to Finnish, and specifically to
Helsinki slang
Helsinki slang or ('Helsinki's slang', from Swedish , 'city'; see etymology) is a local dialect and a sociolect of the Finnish language mainly used in the capital city of Helsinki. It is characterized by its abundance of foreign loan words no ...
.
* The book ''
The Dice Man
The Dice Man is a 1971 novel by American novelist George Cockcroft, writing under the pen name, "Luke Rhinehart". The book tells the story of a psychiatrist who makes daily decisions based on the casting of a diсe. Cockcroft describes the o ...
'' by
Luke Rhinehart
George Powers Cockcroft (November 15, 1932 – November 6, 2020), widely known by the pen name Luke Rhinehart, was an American novelist, screenwriter, and nonfiction writer. He is best known for his 1971 novel '' The Dice Man,'' the story of a psy ...
(a.k.a. author George Cockcroft) is about a man who lets his whole life be determined by the dice. The book's themes are continued in other novels, ''
The Search for the Dice Man
''The Search for the Dice Man'' was written by George Cockcroft under the pen name Luke Rhinehart. It is the official sequel to '' The Dice Man'', and was published in 1993.
Other books by George Cockcroft with the same themes: '' The Dice Ma ...
'', ''
Adventures of Wim
''Adventures of Wim'' is a book by George Cockcroft, written under the pen name Luke Rhinehart. It was first published in 1986.
Plot summary
The book is composed of sections taken from other, fictional books. The preface to the book claims tha ...
'' and ''
The Book of the Die
George Powers Cockcroft (November 15, 1932 – November 6, 2020), widely known by the pen name Luke Rhinehart, was an American novelist, screenwriter, and nonfiction writer. He is best known for his 1971 novel ''The Dice Man,'' the story of a psyc ...
''.
* The philosophy is practiced by Jake Nyman, a character in the film ''
American Perfekt
''American Perfekt'' is a 1997 road/crime thriller film written and directed by Paul Chart, produced by Irvin Kershner. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. The film stars Robert Forster as a psychia ...
''.
*In the movie ''
King-Kong vs. Godzilla'',
Mr. Tako, head of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, is seen in multiple scenes flipping a coin which seem to rule his decision making.
* In the novel ''
No Country for Old Men
''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, th ...
'' (and the
Coen Brothers
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
'
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
) the main antagonist,
Anton Chigurh
Anton Chigurh () is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Cormac McCarthy's novel ''No Country for Old Men''. In the film adaptation of the same name, he is portrayed by Javier Bardem.
Bardem's performance as Chigurh was widely lau ...
, employs the use of flipism in determining the fate of some of his victims, and towards the end of the novel, he gives a short
dissertation on the concept.
* The fictitious religion in the
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
''Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay'' or ''Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play'' (abbreviated to ''WFRP'' or ''WHFRP'') is a role-playing game set in the ''Warhammer Fantasy'' setting, published by Games Workshop or its licensees.
The first edition of ''WF ...
game includes a god of luck, trade and thieves. Many of its priests who embrace the first aspect are said to use flipism for every important decision.
* In the television series ''
Futurama
''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...
'', the episode "
The Farnsworth Parabox" depicts an alternate universe which only differs in that decisions made by flipping coins have the opposite result, with a flip of "heads" in the existing universe being "tails" in the alternate.
* An episode of ''
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...
'' sees
Sheldon Cooper
Sheldon Lee Cooper, Ph.D., Sc.D., is a fictional character in the CBS television series '' The Big Bang Theory'' and its spinoff series '' Young Sheldon'', portrayed by actors Jim Parsons and Iain Armitage respectively (with Parsons as the la ...
resolving to make all of his life decisions based on the roll of a die. This eventually results in him growing a goatee and wearing dirty underwear. In another episode, Sheldon tries revealed preference for selecting his next game platform, to no avail.
* Science fiction author and satirist Leo P. Kelly's novel ''The Coins of Murph'' depicts a
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...
world where all decisions are made by flipping coins, a religious practice designed to circumvent the normal human decision making process which was seen as the cause of a disastrous
nuclear war
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear wa ...
.
* In chapter 57, season 5 of ''
House of Cards
A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structu ...
'', the character
Frank Underwood talks about flipism in solving deadlock situations during election, since the founding fathers did not mention it, and describes "flip decision" as "one of my favorites."
*
Danish poet and scientist
Piet Hein wrote a poem entitled "A Psychological Tip", describing the advantages of coin flipping in decision making.
He wrote:
See also
*
*
*
*
*
* – Fandom movement for
Disney comics
Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney Company, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge.
The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on, starting with th ...
Notes
Notes
Sources
Further reading
*Flipism, Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories, #149, February 1953 (reprinted (#365)
External links
* {{INDUCKSCode, story, W+WDC+149-01, Flip Decision
A Guidebook to the Carl Barks Universe
Coin flipping
Decision theory
Fictional philosophies