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Pascal's Wager Triangle

Title text: In contrast to Pascal's Wager Triangle, Pascal's Triangle Wager argues that maybe God wants you to draw a triangle of numbers where each one is the sum of the two numbers above it, so you probably should, just in case.

Explanation

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a PERSON WHO BELIEVED THE TWO BOTS ABOVE HIM - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.

The comic is structured in a layout that emulates Pascal's triangle. Pascal's triangle is a numerical triangle where the top is 1 and each value below is the sum of the 2, or in the case of the edges, 1 number(s) above it. For example, a triangle would start with a singular 1, then the next row would have two ones, and the next would have a one, a two, and another one, and so on. In the comic, Cueball is instead wagering his proof of a god to the Cueballs below him, thereby creating Cueballs that believe in a number of gods equal to the sum of the 2 Cueballs above him. Theoretically, this cycle would continue for all integers as the triangle grows. This is clearly not the intent of the first Cueball, who simply wagered the proof of his one god, but he has no control over the situation.

It is not clearly shown what differences would be between the multiple gods that interior Cueballs in the third row and on would be, as they all started from the same one, but as history would show, word of mouth can easily change stories.

The title text also mentions a proper Pascal's Triangle, but one where God would ask you to draw it, meaning theoretically if one did not follow this command, they would be punished.

Pascal's Wager is a philosophical argument proposed by Blaise Pascal. Essentially, if the Bible is true, both the rewards for believing in God and the punishment for nonbelief are infinite; if it is not, the cost of belief and benefit for nonbelief are negligible. Therefore, if there is a finite possibility that the Bible is true, however small, one should believe in God.

Pascal's Triangle is a triangular array of numbers, where each number equals the sum of the two numbers above it. It plays important roles in binomial expansion, probability theory, and other areas of math. While Blaise Pascal did not invent the triangle, it is named after him.

This comic combines the Wager and the Triangle. At the top is a Cueball, proposing a proof for "his god". The two Cueballs find his philosophical argument compelling, and convince the three Cueballs of their god's existence. Those three do the same, though the Cueball in the middle has interpreted the arguments of the two Cueballs above him as an argument to believe in two different gods. This pattern repeats for two more rows, with the implication that it goes on for some time thereafter.

It is unclear why the Cueballs behave in this fashion. Perhaps each one rewords their arguments for God(s) sufficiently to make them sound different than other gods. This is not without precedent; for instance, scholars of comparative mythology believe that the religion of Proto-Indo-European peoples splintered into many disparate religions of Europe and West Asia.

This comic may be referencing a common counterargument to Pascal's Wager—that it works equally well for any hypothetical god which offers paradise for one action and damnation otherwise. This can even include hypothetical gods with contradictory criteria for entrance into paradise. In this case, the Cueballs apparently chose to believe in n deities to cover their bases.

The title text proposes Pascal's Triangle Wager, which combines the Triangle and Wager in a different manner. It proposes a potential god who grants salvation to those who construct a copy of Pascal's Triangle.

Pascal's Wager was previously mentioned in the title text of 525.

Transcript

This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.

[Cueballs, each holding some document, are shown in a triangular arrangement, with arrows pointing from upper to lower Cueballs:]

        C1
      C2  C3
    C4  C5  C6
  C7  C8  C9  C10
C11 C12 C13 C14 C15

C1: Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my god!

C2 & C3: I'm convinced! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my god!

C4 & C6: I'm convinced! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my god!

C5: Ok, I believe you both! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my two gods!

C8 & C9: Ok, I believe you both! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my three gods!

C12 & C14: Ok, I believe you both! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my four gods!

C13: Ok, I believe you both! Hey, you two below me! Here's a proof that you should believe in my six gods!

[Caption below the panel:]

Pascal's Wager Triangle

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