Scientists rightly resist invoking the supernatural in scientific explanations for fear of committing a god-of-the-gaps fallacy (the fallacy of using God as a stop-gap for ignorance). Yet without some restriction on the use of chance, scientists are in danger of committing a logically equivalent fallacy-one we may call the “chance-of-the-gaps fallacy.” Chance, like God, can become a stop-gap for ignorance. William A. Dembski
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Chance is a difficult concept to define. The definition of chance is something that cannot be predicted or controlled. In other words, chance happens when there is no explanation for a particular outcome. For example, the outcome of a coin flip will always be one way or another.

It can’t fall on its edge. If it’s heads, it’s heads, and if it’s tails it’s tails. However, since we cannot control or predict the outcome of a coin flip, a coin flip has a chance of the outcome being anything imaginable. Therefore, because we cannot predict the outcome of a coin flip, it can be argued that a coin flip has no chance of being predictable.

In this way, it is possible to use chance as a stop-gap for ignorance or as an explanation for an outcome that cannot be predicted or controlled.

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