Monks and Lots: How Religious Orders Used Randomness
The act of asking a yes or no question and trusting the answer to fate is one of the oldest human behaviors ever recorded. Archaeological evidence suggests that binary divination predates every major civilization, every religion, and every written language. It is, quite simply, the oldest game on Earth.
A Practice That Transcends Time
Consider this: if an 80,000-year-old practice still exists in every culture on Earth, there must be something genuinely valuable about it. Yes or no decision making is not a superstition that survived despite being useless. It is a cognitive tool that survived because it works. It works because it forces action. It works because it bypasses overthinking. It works because sometimes, both options are good, and what you need most is simply to choose.
The next time you feel stuck in indecision, remember that you are about to participate in humanity's oldest tradition. You are joining an unbroken chain of decision makers stretching back 80,000 years. Your ancestors threw bones. You click a button. The wisdom is the same.
80,000 years of yes or no. 80,000 years of asking, trusting, and acting. The tools change, the questions change, but the magic of binary decision making endures.