Chance

Chance is the apparent or modeled absence of a predictable determining pattern in events. It can describe uncertainty in outcomes or the role of randomness in a process.

Probability: A mathematical framework for quantifying uncertainty about outcomes. It assigns numerical measures to uncertain outcomes without requiring a cause to be unknowable.
Uncertainty: A state in which available information does not determine a single outcome or estimate. Chance is one source or description of uncertainty, but the two are not identical.
Randomized controlled trial: An experiment that assigns participants to interventions by random allocation. Random assignment uses chance to reduce systematic differences between comparison groups.
Epicureanism: An ancient Greek philosophical school founded by Epicurus, centered on atomism and the pursuit of tranquility. Epicurean atomism introduced a deviation that allowed room for chance and agency.
Luck: The apparent influence of favorable or unfavorable chance on events. Luck gives chance a personal meaning tied to outcomes people welcome or regret.
Randomness: The lack of a predictable pattern in a process or sequence. It describes the unpredictable patterns commonly associated with chance.
Aleatory uncertainty: Uncertainty attributed to inherent variability in a process rather than missing knowledge. It names the uncertainty most directly associated with chance.
Monte Carlo method: A computational technique that estimates quantities through repeated random sampling. It turns chance-generated samples into numerical approximations.
Lucretius: A Roman poet and philosopher whose poem On the Nature of Things presents Epicurean philosophy. His account of atoms swerving helped preserve the Epicurean idea of chance.
Fate: The belief that events are fixed by a predetermined course or power. Fate opposes the sense that outcomes remain open to chance.

Linked from 8 pages