Determinism and dish towels

In my class this spring on "randomness", I tried to convince my students that quantum mechanics (the physics of the very small) is inconsistent with a deterministic universe. The physics of this is difficult to explain without getting technical, and I am still working on a good explanation. For the purposes of this post, you may have to take my word for it that on a fundamental level, the behaviors of particles simply cannot be exactly predicted, even in principle. Fundamental physics is demonstrably not deterministic.

Despite the fact that this idea has been around for a long time, I'm discovering that today's college students still react with a lot of skepticism - there is still a deep desire to "rescue" determinism and to explain all observed randomness as merely apparent. Einstein is often quoted as being similarly uncomfortable with the claims of quantum mechanics. Famously, he said "God does not play dice with the universe". While you could probably spend a lot of time analyzing and critiquing Einstein's position, physicist Niels Bohr (one of the founders of quantum mechanics) had a pithy comeback: "Stop telling God what to do!"

Considering that what's at stake in the debate between Einstein and Bohr was (and is) one of the most fundamental philosophical questions you can ask about our universe, is it weird that nowadays you can wash and dry your dishes with Bohr's quote?

This lovely dish towel can be purchased here.