This movement toward coherent pathways results in macro decisions being made non-randomly. Thus, randomness is used in the service of, and not in opposition to, intelligent nonrandom choice. Hofstadter metaphorically suggests that this is the equivalent of the fluidity of water. A liquid could not flow in the soft, gentle fluid way it does, were it not composed of tiny components whose micro-actions are completely random to one another. The flow of liquid is one of the most nonrandom phenomena of nature that we are familiar with.
Fluidity is an emergent quality, and to simulate it accurately requires and underlaying randomness.
It is critical, it seems, that people be allowed the potential to follow risky pathways in order to have the flexibility to follow insightful pathways, and in order to do so they must have random, not directed influences. In this complex world we are unlikely to know in advance what concepts may turn out to be relevant in a given situation and examination of a limited number, but randomly selected variables are most likely to enable us to consider nonconforming solutions. Many people, even in civilized societies operate with beliefs that are unexplainable. Where the understanding breaks down, the faith comes in. What is difficult to define is why people believe what they believe.