According to Wikipedia (I like the way they worded it, give me a break!), a coincidence “is the noteworthy alignment of two or more events or circumstances without obvious causal connection“.
Here are a few coincidences I’ve read online:
In 1975, while riding a moped in Bermuda, a man was accidentally struck and killed by a taxi. One year later, this man’s bother was killed in the very same way. In fact, he was riding the very same moped. And to stretch the odds even further, he was struck by the very same taxi driven by the same driver – and even carrying the very same passenger! (Source: Phenomena: A Book of Wonders, John Michell and Robert J. M. Rickard)
In Detroit sometime in the 1930s, a young (if incredibly careless) mother must have been eternally grateful to a man named Joseph Figlock. As Figlock was walking down the street, the mother’s baby fell from a high window onto Figlock. The baby’s fall was broken and both man and baby were unharmed. A stroke of luck on its own, but a year later, the very same baby fell from the very same window onto poor, unsuspecting Joseph Figlock as he was again passing beneath. And again, they both survived the event. (Source: Mysteries of the Unexplained)
Mark Twain was born on the day of the appearance of Halley’s Comet in 1835, and died on the day of its next appearance in 1910. He himself predicted this in 1909, when he said: “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it.”
When faced with (supposed) events like these, should random coincidental real life situations elicit focused worthy emotions? My answer is, why the heck not, especially if it’s relevant to your minute to minute actions.
And when I say random real life situations, I’m not talking about the time when your significant other drapes the entire apartment with red cloth for your anniversary, only to find out you lose complete control of bowel movements when bombarded with the color red. Yeah, no.
While it’s not unusual to encounter small coincidences, it’s interesting to note how it seems to go hand in hand with causality. Again, going back to Wikipedia, Causality “denotes a necessary relationship between one event (called cause) and another event (called effect) which is the direct consequence of the first“
Don’t worry, I won’t even start on what I think about the cosmos and how I think it’s related to coincidences.
You may be thinking to yourself, “Okay Tasi, what exactly is the point to this entry?”. I hate to disappoint (really I do), but I don’t think I had a single point I can stick a thumbtack on. Instead, I’m reveling in a coincidental “in the middle of the block, in front of a frozen yogurt shop with smiles on our faces” meeting (or as I’d like say, bumpature) with a friend.
You may now be thinking, “Okay Tasi, it must be a really special friend if you’re taking the time out of your day to write about it”. Sure, you can say that. I have a lot of acquaintances but only a handful of truly wonderful people in my life I’d consider special friend, or, “I’D TAKE A BULLET IN THE GONAD” kind of friend. So yes, this friend is special. Satisfied?
You may now be thinking, “Well, I’m not THAT satisfied but that explanation will have to do. So what now about coincidences and causality, you have my undying attention…” Well, this event got me thinking about luck and how paradoxical luck and coincidences are. Is it not true that if you work hard enough, your chance of luck increases exponentially? I’d like to stick my neck out and say, “yes”. At the very least, I feel I’ve been caressed by luck induced hard work, especially when it deals with Acting and the various opportunities I’ve been able to explore. I think coincidences are similar in that each occurrence is, dare I say, like a snowflake: unique, often elegant and many times, easily missed.
So what if I bumped into some friend during an interesting time of the day, at a notable physical intersection of human traffic, with a sunny disposition towards hanging out and sharing a few hours together? So what, you ask? What do you mean so what?! The moment! That’s the moment! I live for that. That’s the snowflake dissolving on the tip of your tongue, and faster than it can change from a solid state to liquid, your brain has already received information that, yes…a snowflake has coincidentally landed on your tongue and now you are smiling. Coincidence and causality, boy, they must work out together.
Is it a coincidence that, this person lives in the same city as me? I don’t think so. Same country? I can put some money on that, sure.
Is it causality that I’m writing this blog entry because of earlier events? Debatable, maybe I just felt like writing. Is it causality that I’m in a great mood because of earlier events? You’re warm. No, you’re red hot!
Is it a coincidence that as you’re reading this, you’re probably missing out on a favorite television show (I can wish), or forgetting to fetch your laundry from the dryer? Forecast: “Highly Unlikely”. What it most likely falls into is: Timing.
And according to Wikipedia…
Related articles
Luck (xxxenos.wordpress.com)
Coincidence or synchronicity? (truthtolive4.wordpress.com)
It’s No Coincidence: Rarity Is Subjective (wmbriggs.com)
The Two Most Underrated Abilities and Tools in Life. (theesposito.wordpress.com)
Contingency, Causality, Determinism, And Free Will (wmbriggs.com)