2947: Pascal's Wager Triangle

2024-06-18T10:31:19Z

Brocco: Add transcript for c7 (left side of the xkcd)

{{comic
| number = 2947
| date = June 17, 2024
| title = Pascal's Wager Triangle
| image = pascals_wager_triangle_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x802px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = In contrast to Pascal's Wager Triangle, Pascal's Triangle Wager argues that maybe God wants you to draw a triangle of numbers where each one is the sum of the two numbers above it, so you probably should, just in case.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PERSON WHO BELIEVED THE TWO BOTS ABOVE HIM - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The comic is structured in a layout that emulates {{w|Pascal's triangle}}. Pascal's triangle is a numerical triangle where the top is 1 and each value below is the sum of the 2, or in the case of the edges, 1 number(s) above it. For example, a triangle would start with a singular 1, then the next row would have two ones, and the next would have a one, a two, and another one, and so on. It plays important roles in binomial expansion, probability theory, and other areas of math. While {{w|Blaise Pascal}} did not invent the triangle, it is named after him.

{{w|Pascal's Wager}} is a philosophical argument proposed by Blaise Pascal. Essentially, if the Bible is true, both the rewards for believing in God and the punishment for nonbelief are infinite; if it is not, the cost of belief and benefit for nonbelief are negligible. Therefore, if there is a finite possibility that the Bible is true, however small, one should believe in God.

The comic merges the two — each Cueball is wagering his proof of a god or gods to the Cueballs below him, thereby creating Cueballs that believe in a number of gods equal to the sum of the 2 Cueballs above him. In the second row, the two Cueballs believe in a god, as intended by the original Cueball. However, in the third row, the Cueball in the middle interprets the two proofs offered to him as proving the existence of two gods. Theoretically, this cycle would continue for all integers as the triangle grows, giving rise to a belief in escalating numbers of gods towards the middle bottom of the triangle. This is clearly not the intent of the first Cueball, who simply wagered the proof of his one god, but he has no control over the situation.

It is unclear why the Cueballs behave in this fashion, instead of treating all the proofs as proving the existence of the same god. Perhaps each one rewords their arguments for god(s) sufficiently to make them sound different than other gods. This is not without precedent; for instance, scholars of comparative mythology believe that the religion of Proto-Indo-European peoples splintered into many disparate religions of Europe and West Asia.

This comic may be referencing a common counterargument to Pascal's Wager — that it works equally well for any hypothetical god which offers paradise for one action and damnation otherwise. This can even include hypothetical gods with contradictory criteria for entrance into paradise. In this case, the Cueballs apparently chose to believe in ''n'' deities to cover their bases.

The title text also mentions a proper Pascal's Triangle, but one where God would ask you to draw it, meaning theoretically if one did not follow this command, they would be punished.

Pascal's Wager was previously mentioned in the title text of [[525]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Cueballs, each holding some document, are shown in a triangular arrangement, with arrows pointing from upper to lower Cueballs:]
C1
C2 C3
C4 C5 C6
C7 C8 C9 C10
C11 C12 C13 C14 C15
:C1: Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my god!
:C2 & C3: I'm convinced! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my god!
:C4 & C6: I'm convinced! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my god!
:C5: Ok, I believe you both! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my '''two''' gods!
:C7: I'm convinced! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my god!
:C8 & C9: Ok, I believe you both! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my '''three''' gods!
:C12 & C14: Ok, I believe you both! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my '''four''' gods!
:C13: Ok, I believe you both! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my '''six''' gods!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Pascal's Wager Triangle

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Religion]]

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2947: Pascal's Wager Triangle