The Dice Man

[irfan]

I'm reading The Diceman with a bottle of red wine open next to me. It's hysterical! I love it! I went out and bought a pair of die earlier to go with it.

I tend to be a bit neurotic about doing yoga every day, if I miss a day I feel like I've committed a sin. So earlier today, I threw the die and said "If it's snake-eyes, I'm not doing it!"

I got a one and a two, but a miss is as good as a mile.

Anyone else out there ever done this "dice living" thing? What a hooooooooooot!!!!!!

Hehehehehehhehehhehehehehehhe!

[irfan]

Before I posted before, I threw the die: if the total added up to less than five, I was going straight back to bed without posting. This is wild!!

[desertrat]

I read the pre view on amazon and it says let the dice decide , I thought it was some form of p.k. to make a dice roll any thing you wanted . Lets say you wanted a six for the craps game , you visulaize two threes in your mind . I was reddy to take this to Las Vegas . desert rat

[irfan]

Desertrat, no, it's more about introducing randomness into your life. Apparently, there was a travel documentary where the travellers made their decisions about where to go, where to eat, what to do, and so on, all on the throw of a dice.

The idea is that the dice can nudge you beyond your comfort zones into doing things differently to how you otherwise might have done them.

Of course, you can set the parameters however you like. In the novel, the main character sets the parameters EXTREMELY broadly. It was originally written in 1971, apparently, and became quite a cult novel.

The key phrase on google is "dice living".

This is from an article about the book and it's author (who apparently practices what he preaches):

"To begin with you could use the throw of a die, at the weekend, to decide which club or bar you will go to. Then use the die to decide what to drink and when to leave or maybe who you will approach that night. The author met his wife after he passed two women in his car and decided, on the throw of a die, to go back and approach them. Think of all the possible options and decisions in your day-to-day life and then use a die to select one."

[desertrat]

I got the randomness part when I said "let the dice decide" . I was being funny . How ever it would be nice to have some kind of p.k. to move the dice to the number you want . Unless a pit boss at a crap game figures this out , and I get kicked out . desert rat

[irfan]

I think I read somewhere that you get black-banned just for "statistically improbable patterns." Two standard deviations, and you're out.