Lesson plan
Binary lot
— a common method of casting a binary lot A binary lot is an object that, when cast, comes to rest with one of two distinct faces uppermost. These can range from precisely machined objects like modern coins which produce balanced results (each side coming up half the time over many casts), to naturally occurring objects like cowrie shells which may produce a range of unbalanced results depending upon the species, individual, and even circumstances of the cast. Binary lots may be used for divination, impartial decision-making, gambling, and game playing, the boundaries of which (as David Parlett suggests) can be quite blurred. They may be cast singly, yielding a single binary outcome (yes/no, win/lose, etc.), but often they are cast multiply, several in a single cast, yielding a range of possible outcomes.
Article summary
— a common method of casting a binary lot A binary lot is an object that, when cast, comes to rest with one of two distinct faces uppermost. These can range from precisely machined objects like modern coins which produce balanced results (each side coming up half the time over many casts), to naturally occurring objects like cowrie shells which may produce a range of unbalanced results depending upon the species, individual, and even circumstances of the cast. Binary lots may be used for divination, impartial decision-making, gambling, and game playing, the boundaries of which (as David Parlett suggests) can be quite blurred. They may be cast singly, yielding a single binary outcome (yes/no, win/lose, etc.), but often they are cast multiply, several in a single cast, yielding a range of possible outcomes.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.