What do you think of coincidences?

The definition of coincidence that Wikipedia gives is as follows -

A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances which have no apparent causal connection with each other. The perception of remarkable coincidences may lead to supernatural, occult, or paranormal claims. Or it may lead to belief in fatalism, which is a doctrine that events will happen in the exact manner of a predetermined plan.

From a statistical perspective, coincidences are inevitable and often less remarkable than they may appear intuitively.

Do you believe that coincidences have a deeper meaning than what meets the eye, or do you think that it's just our minds playing tricks on us? And then there's the whole question of fate, if you believe in that sort of thing. I kind of find coincidences to be fun, and particularly fun to figure out as to why they're happening in my life.

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I consider myself to be a very rational person, but sometimes you wonder if the universe is trying to tell you something. Probably not.

 

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You can be rational AND believe that there are deeper meanings in coincidences.

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lol Although, I've never liked the word ''luck,'' just seems like a trite way to describe when life's going well for us --- the term ''coincidence'' seems like a close cousin.

 

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The last few years my mom was alive... wit over 90 % accuracy... when the phone woud ring i knew when it was her.!!!

 

Sometimes, coincidence is just coincidence.
Sometimes, not.
"Coincidence" is always worth a second look. Oft times coincidence is the gateway to discerning a pattern of causality.
ie: (simple possibility)when b and c occur together one may be causal to the other, or, careful analysis may lead to seeing a as the causal factor.
It seems that very few things/events are completely independent.

 

Is that like when I look out in my driveway, I can guess what car I'll see with over 90% accuracy (because, well, I have only one car)?

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Not really. I think it's just an artifact of being able to make connections where none exist.

 

Verrry funny.

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That's not a good example of a coincidence.

A coincidence would be ...you were in love with someone like ten years ago, and you had to break up for reasons that weren't either of your faults. Then, ten years later, you move to a new city, you bump into her at a Starbucks up the road from where you live, and realize that she is your next door neighbor in this brand new city. She is still single and so are you. To me, that's fate, or an awesome coincidence. How can anyone just dismiss this as randomness? lol

 

I believe that the universe is governed by a set of invariant natural laws, some known, and some as yet unknown. Anything that appears to have a deeper meaning relative to the known natural laws, has natural causes that are in accord with the whole set of natural laws. So yes, things can have deeper meanings than what meets the eye.

 

NO... other people called besides my mom... but come to thank of it... she did call me almost ever sunday afternoon

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How about if... "you were in love with someone like ten years ago, and you had to break up for reasons that weren't either of your faults. Then, ten years later" you bumped into each other in a diferent city... woud you still consider that as fate.???

Do thangs ever hapen to you an you'r not sure if its fate or coincidence.???

 

So is it safe to assume that "fate" could be a real thing? Fate always seems to be intertwined with the supernatural, but does it have to be that way?

 

lol Of course. But, I'm one of those ''things happen for a reason'' kind of people, if the ''coincidences'' are just too strong to ignore.

 

I thank everthang hapens for reasons sinse i thank the universe is prolly deterministic... but i dont have beliefs in fate sinse i dont have beleifs that the universe has purpose.!!!

 

Yes, fate could be real. And there could be a way to control fate, as well. Try seeking an acknowledgement from beyond the boundary of the known natural laws. Make it simple, and then use what you find inside you, your faith or hope or the subconscious, etc., as a mechanism to help bring about that which you seek as an acknowledgement. It is a parallel to the prayer featured by many religions, but like you say, it doesn't have to invoke the Supernatural.

 

Yes. That or time travel.

 

1st figurative analogy... There's the interpretation of a dream which one experienced the night before as just that very manifestation of sights, sounds, and feelings of a familiar yet potentially bizarre environment (a first person POV about the sleep-fantasy). And then there's the interpretation of that dream as a scattered web of electrochemical activity which transpired in the brain (a third person POV about the sleep-fantasy). The trick is to keep those dual conceptions in their distinct, applicable contexts rather than incommensurably contaminating one with the other.

Similarly, any interpretation of a series of coincidences as having "significance" or being some kind of pattern hidden in the ("normal") statistical expectations of physical events has to be kept separate from the latter scientific view which is incompatible with the former representation.

2nd figurative analogy... A fully, internally coherent computer game of the future would convert the "interference" of transcendent players (their invading will and decisions) into the conventional rules and processes of its world-scheme. Even supposed "miracles" and "violating aberrations" would thereby always have explanations amenable to the way in which that virtual reality operated within in its own internal story framework. A character in the game could privately entertain that intermittent chains of coincidences were covert messages or meanings from beyond the game's regulated appearances, but any attempt to justify such beliefs publicly would go nowhere (be eventually punctured by the non-extraordinary system of reasons which the invasive "outer influences" had been smoothly blended / translated into).

The coin of cognition has two sides: Personal interpretation and an inter-personal / objective solidarity. But conforming to and digging out the latter's rules is what is going to be successful in manipulating the latter's reality, and should not be compromised by the former's alternative meaningfulness for the individual (or small group of like fellow interpreters). One merely has to maintain their separateness rather than trying to make a one-sided coin.

 

The existence of large scale patterns of events not fully comprehended by the people enmeshed in them is highly probable. If you restrict the label "natural" to stuff you can figure out or observe without special effort, they would need a different label.

I lean toward recognizing the existence of complexity and depth in the world, rather than hypothesizing unworldly or other-worldly entities. But that's an analytical choice - there are some benefits to employing other approaches. "Fate", like "parallel lines", can be a useful concept.

 

Maybe we ''romanticize'' coincidences, sometimes - making them out to be something they're not.

 

Why must it be ''incompatible?''

I suppose attaching false meanings to coincidences could prove to be dangerous, when we think about it. This is a great explanation of things, thanks.

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