How do you feel about coincidences?

Depends on how you view coincidences, I see life as things just happen, no luck or bad luck, no coincidences, it just happens and that is how life flows :)

Edit: Although I see life like this I do love probability and things like that, I find it facinating, especially theoretical physics and the study of how to change outcomes and things. If anyone has ever seen Derren Brown he’s done a good program on probability.

That’s really strange! The probability of that happening is next to nothing, but there’s always a chance.

I like to think of coincidence in terms of probablity. There is always that little chance of something happening, so why shouldn’t it happen?

I love coincidences! I don’t believe in fate or destiny and I’ve had a good few ‘wow, what a small world’ type experiences and it always amuses me.
Best example:
I’m from a country w. a pop. of <50000, my husband is from a city w. a pop of >10,000,000 (counting the greater urban area, which makes it more interesting – otherwise I believe it’s approx. 8,000,000). We met in a 3rd location. After we’d been together for about a year, a friend of his (still living in the big city) was going out with a girl who grew up in the same neighborhood as me.

Well, to be fair, the dice were slightly shaved. They all came back this week-end for Brown Grad. and reunion, but still. If either of the cabs had been a moment either later or earlier, they would have missed each other.

I think there are coincidences. On the other hand, I have seen chains of improbable events that I think are the universe delivering certain experiences or knowledge or something i need to me.

This case seems like a happy coincidence!

I’m a little annoyed with how we view coincidences. Here’s why:

Say you were thinking about your mom and suddenly she called. You think “OMG! I’m psychic/connected with my mother in some spiritual way!” and immediately forget the countless other times this didn’t happen. Coincidence seems to invite faulty reasoning. In your example, someone might go a step further and say “Oh wow, I guess God wants my first cousin and his best friend in my life right now. I should act on this,” but they never act the same way when a stranger comes out of a nearby cab.

I don’t know why we do this, but it’s always kinda bugged me.

Another thing, what can we view as a coincidence anyway? Is it when you and a family member meet in the oddest place possible? Is it not a coincidence that if you met a stranger in this oddest place possible? Just thinking about it now after BlueSky up there.

Sometimes I’m amazed by them and sometimes disappointed, it depends upon the situation. A coincidence doesn’t always doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be pleasant. It’s also how I feel about researching family history, a little off topic, I apologize, but there’s also the chance that a person will learn some rather shady aspect of their family’s or a family member’s wrongdoing. Past life regression was also a bit of a stumper for me, a lot of people claim to be something royal or important, but it’s practically impossible (if you believe in past lives) that so many people could have been so important or royalty. I’ve never heard of someone claiming that they were from a long line of blacksmiths or hairdressers.

Isn’t life just a series of coincidences though? Or perhaps we don’t look at it that way because we generally term something a coincidence when it is a positive thing.

For example, it was a coincidence that your daughter and her cousin saw each other at a random place and that’s very exciting. But, it would also technically be a coincidence when you are walking by someone and they stick their arm out while telling a story and end up slapping you in the face. Both examples are coincidences but I doubt anyone would categorize the latter as such. You just don’t hear people saying “What a coincidence that you hit me in the face just then because I was thinking I could use a good slap.”

That all being said, I do think that there are coincidences, and I do generally think of them as positive things. I’d like to think that people come in and out of our lives for a reason, whatever that reason may be.

That is pretty awesome, Gail! I bet Milo had a paw in this happening!

Does she live in Vancouver, Washington or Vancouver B.C., Canada?

Small world, huh?

Or small airport? How many West Coast flights are there a day?

@Bulb: Vancouver, BC.

@Marina:
I don’ think that you can fly anywhere non-stop from the Prov. Airport. MY daughter was there only because her luggage didn’t make it from O’Hare to Boston. And they did talk about Milo, since Andrew had given me so much good advice.

I said this in the luck question also: I think I believe that everything happens for a reason, therefore a coincidence would not be a coincidence but something that was supposed to happen. I haven’t decided for sure if this is my philosophy yet but it’s something to consider.

When good/pleasant things happen unexpectedly they are coincidences.
When bad things happen they’re called accidents.

Does anyone else have a problem with this?

one definition of accident: “any event that happens unexpectedly, without a deliberate plan or cause.” which is kind of what a coincidence is isn’t it? Wait what?

Yes I am equally confused

I thought life was a series of coincidences… I don’t believe it’s all planned out by a higher power.

I do have to admit, that after reading the thread, I’m now a little confused.