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 Historical
footnotes
Randomness and games of chance have been part of human history for
thousands of years. Bones, dice, ping pong balls have all played a part
in our search for fairness in games and in decision making. Here are
two historical examples that may be of interest.
We quote the Secretary of War Department, speaking at the beginning of
the 1917 draft lottery. “This is an occasion of great dignity and some
solemnity. It represents the first application of a principle believed
by many of us to be thoroughly democratic; equal and fair in selecting
soldiers to defend the national honor abroad and at home.”
Random assignment of medical treatments when there was uncertainly
about the relative merits of alternate treatments was proposed as early
as 1662 by the Flemish physician J. A. Van Helmot who challenged a
colleague who was using bloodletting and purging in the treatment of
disease. “Let us take out of the hospitals 200 or 500 poor people, that
have fevers and pleurisies. Let us divide them into halves; let us cast
lots, that half of them may fall to my share and the other half to
yours. I will cure them without bloodletting and sensible evacuation.
But you do as you know. We shall see how many funerals both of us shall
attend.” Unfortunately, the colleagues did not take up Van Helmot’s
challenge and the medical practice of bloodletting continued to be
prescribed for two centuries later.
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