h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

3. The Universe, in the midst of it's apparent chaos, is orderly and predictable.

How about this:

"3. The Universe, in the midst of it's apparent chaos, is orderly and predictable at least in the sense that it's behavior is based on definite rules."

sorry about the multiple postings ... I'm having a bit of a brainstorm at the moment.

The problem with the new version is that it uses too many words, yet all of them seem to be necessary if I'm going to cover the point of view you've brought up

No worries about multiple postings.

Why don't you blend points 2&3? How about something along the lines of:

2. For all intents and purposes
a. The observable Universe exists, and must be treated as real
b. In the midst of its apparent chaos, it is orderly and predictable


That way you get the '...for all intents and purposes...' bit in for both without haivng to repeat yourself.

if we're going to go into sub-points though ... its hard to know where to stop with that