What Are The Odds?
In Chapter 6, you were suggested to “go make yourself a cup of your favorite warm beverage and come back…”
Most readers, just kept reading on as they were not thirsty at the time… or don’t like warm beverages… or were just engrossed in reading further. It said there that by NOT stopping at that random moment (by going to make yourself a warm beverage) – you may feel that you have missed something.
You may feel this today when you finish reading this chapter.
In your own life experience, you have a lot of experiences. These experiences are like raw “data” that is coming your way all the time. Living life is like watching a “real-life” 3D movie, with sound, smell, touch and a total immersion experience – its life-like. If you store all this “life-data” in your brain and never analyze it, or examine it – all that it will ever be is just data. Say, that you stored in your brain every single sunrise and the time it occurred. If you never took the time to examine it further, you would never realize that throughout the year the days get shorter and/or longer…
Once you collect enough data, you can run analytics on it and distill insights. With insights you can make predictions, plan ahead, avoid trouble and in general live a better life. If you recorded all the information about the sun, moon and temperatures – you may be able to harvest food better than someone who plants on a random day.
When you go about your daily life you see things that in conjunction with the data you already collected seem to be a “coincidence.” The definition of a coincidence is: a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection.
In other words, when you experience a coincidence you are really saying “this is a random event.” The definition of random is: made, done, happening, or chosen without method or conscious decision.
So, if we run analytics on enough data, we should be able to establish mathematically if something is random (happens very rarely without a pattern), or it is a pattern that has cause and effect (has causal connection.) Alas, much of this “data” though is stored in your brain and I nor anyone else can access it and analyze it…
<Bummer>
This blog aims to try and tease-out enough testimonials from a crowd, so we can begin to see a pattern (if indeed there is one) about how life works. It is attempting to use crowd-sourcing and Wisdom of the Crowd effect. (see Mindsharing book below)
If there are forces unseen that are emanating from our very thoughts – there should be also events in our lives that SEEM unexplainable to the naked eye. Furthermore, if we are open to explore them just like anything else we use the scientific method for – we ought to prove or disprove the thesis. If only we could cull together enough data to analyze these events from within the readers’ minds…
In your own brain you may hold the key to this mystery, yet, we never had a central place to chat about it. So here is a chance to share your experience, in the comments section and see if you are the ONLY person who had a coincidence, or perhaps these are no coincidences at all.
The odds of the sun rising tomorrow are pretty good. I would bet all my money on that, if Vegas would take this bet. I hope we can agree that barring extraordinary circumstances aka “Force Majeure”, that the sun rising is NOT considered a coincidence. The sun is not a living/breathing organism, and it does not have wishes, desires, dreams, hopes or a soul. Thus, the only thing we should expect from it, being an inanimate object, is only natural occurring phenomena.
When we deal with humans, and their lives, they DO have wishes, desires, dreams, hopes and they DO have thoughts that may actuate events in their lives. The big question is how do their thoughts affect their surroundings? How can we measure this? How can we prove it happens? How does Free Will work?
TOO MANY stories from around the world seem to be a coincidence. Yet, the sheer odds of them occurring randomly are baffling. With the same low probability of the sun not rising tomorrow, people describe events in their lives that are beyond belief. If you have experienced or have references to such events – please do share so we can examine them once and for all and determine their true nature.
There are many references in history to these amazing coincidences and as more cases are reported by readers, there will be more data to analyze.
Here’s a story my good friend told me to spark your curiosity…
What Are The Odds?
Over 20 years ago, my friend’s wife had a prosperous business and a stable life, when an unstable individual started stalking her daughter and even broke into their home. The police got involved and arrested the individual.
Off the record, the police admitted that if ultimate security was what she was after – there was no alternative to just picking up and relocating.
Due to the circumstances of the relocation, putting safety over everything else, she relocated to a city thousands of miles away and had to limit the circle of who knew her whereabouts. This included one of her best friends…
Over the years she remarried and many years later, returned to her original state, yet to a different city.
So 20 years have past and she happens to run across her long lost friend at a social event. After the crying and hugging expected from a longtime reunion, they start comparing notes about their lives…
Friend’s wife: “I am building a new home”
Her friend: “Me too”
Friend’s wife: “Where?”
Her friend: “In city X”
Friend’s wife: “Me too! What subdivision?”
Her friend: “In subdivision Y”
Friend’s wife: “Me too! Which home?”
Her friend: “Street Z and number 1234”
Friend’s wife: “We are going to be next-door neighbors!”
<Woah!>
What is going on here? What are the odds of this happening? Could it be that this is pure random, chance, coincidence? If so, can you ascribe the mathematical odds of this happening? As there are infinite permutations to how this story could end, it is really 1:infinity odds?
Could the thoughts of trying to reunite with a long-lost friend cause such miracles? Could unseen forces in our subconscious help “steer” the two individuals towards each other over a long period of time? Could there have been “signs” given to these two individuals that helped bring them closer?
Could there be something that caused them to say “Hmm, I am not sure why I like this house on this subdivision more than another – after all they are all the same…”
Was there a sign, gut-feeling, sixth-sense, faint thought or voice saying “this is the one…”?
<Pause>
When you were suggested in Chapter 6 taking a break from reading, and go get a hot beverage – what did you miss by not listening to this “sign”?
Perhaps you would catch something in the corner of your eye on TV that would have changed your life course? Perhaps you avoided slipping on a wet surface in your kitchen and now alive as a result? You will never know what you don’t experience. In some cases there is almost certain knowledge of things you did not experience, such as missing a flight that ultimately went down. In other cases you never know…
Examine your life events and the things you call “coincidences” and try to ask yourself “what are the odds?”
References and Quotes:
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
-Albert Einstein
“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”
-Albert Einstein
Ori,
Thanks for reminding us of how important it is to pay attention to detail and the miraculous “coincidences” in our lives, just like the one I experienced the other day in your office.
I was intrigued by a jar you had sitting in your lobby, where a butterfly appeared to be fluttering. When I’d opened the lid of the jar, inscribed inside the lid was the name “Gemmy.”
That itself wasn’t so remarkable, unless you had known what had happened that less than 2 minutes BEFORE I’d even seen that jar. I had received an email from an electronics vendor I represent, asking me the name of an electronics manufacturer in China that is building for one of our clients. My response to him was…Yes, Gemmy! Those were the only 2 instances in my life where I’d seen or used the name Gemmy.
Life is truly much more rich and meaningful when you’re actively engaged. By pointing it out and sharing it you’re creating a positive chain reaction for many to enjoy. Thank you.
Ori,
Something that I have been pondering for some time is that perhaps there is an element of God’s will in coincidences. Love the Einstein quotes.
Today while on a business trip to San Francisco I was walking to my next appointment. I made a wrong turn and had to simply go around the block to right my course. In doing so I ran into someone I know who works at a like company. We stood there catching up and spoke of the “good” things that we are doing in our field to keep people safe and secure. (Keeping all that vague here on purpose.) We are seemingly competitive companies are working together at an industry level to “fight the good fight”. I simply may have taken a wrong turn. Or perhaps is was God’s will nudging me in the wrong (alas the right) direction to cross paths with this individual. God, higher power, forces of the universe, call it what you will, but I believe there was something bigger at play.
All the best my friend.