Why coincidence exists

Does coincidence exist? Coincidence, synchronicity, people like to believe that something is predestined or directed from 'above'. By the cosmos or something else big that we cannot comprehend. 'Coincidence does not exist' is also a common saying. I personally actually think that coincidence does exist.

Coincidence; an unexpected event that 'falls to you'. So I certainly do not believe that our future is predestined by the powers that be; it is in our own hands.

Our future is the result of the decisions we have made in the past and the choices we make in the present. And sometimes from unpleasant things that happen to us, such as illness or the loss of a loved one. Yet (even in such heartbreaking situations), we ourselves are the ones who choose how to deal with this grief.

Probability

Often, certain situations or events intertwine so wonderfully that it is difficult not to believe that things are predestined. Especially when you want to believe that everything is steered by the cosmos, you will quickly interpret coincidental, unexpected events as 'fate'.

This is because human beings are always inclined to turn situations and events around in their minds to something it suits themselves. Our brain is always looking for explanations for things that happen to us or happen around us.

It makes us feel safe and reassured when everything has 'a reason'. Yet there is always probability. We choose to take a particular action, with the result that there is a chance that something special will happen.

If you roll five dice and use this to throw five sixes in one roll, is this predestined? Or a coincidence? And if you buy a state lottery ticket and win the top prize, is this coincidence? Or predestined?

In both cases, there are coincidences here. From probability. You choose to roll the dice yourself, with the result that there is a chance that you will roll Yahtzee in one go. And indeed, the more often you try to roll five sixes in one go, the greater the chance of succeeding once. Even when you buy a lottery ticket, there is a chance that you 'accidentally' buy the winning ticket. A small chance, admittedly. Although the chance will increase when you buy a hundred lottery tickets in a crazy mood. Or a thousand.

Some chances are greater than others and it is also far from certain that something will actually 'happen' to you, but still, the chance is there. Had you taken no action, there would have been no chance and therefore no 'chance' either.

Holidays

Suppose you go on holiday to Spain and turn out to bump into an old classmate at the market in Costa Blanca. Is this predestined? And what if you travel to Greece with the aim of making a big splash, but instead meet someone who offers you the job of a lifetime. Is this then a coincidence?

Again, this is a matter of coincidence. Both encounters would be the result of an action you yourself have undertaken, namely: going on holiday. One encounter may have greater consequences than the other, but nevertheless, both situations are based on chance. You happened to be in the right place at the right time.

According to followers of the thesis "coincidence does not exist", that is precisely what is predestined. The universe has sent you to the right place at the right time.

But really, this too is mostly a matter of probability and it just makes perfect sense that people who undertake a lot of everything are more likely to encounter nice 'coincidences' in their path, than the so-called couch potatoes who lie at home in front of the tube day and night.

The chances of running into someone somewhere far from home who knows you or offers you the perfect job are obviously very slim, but... it ís out there.

Dreams

Sometimes something happens by chance when you don't take any action yourself, but just think about something or someone. You think of your sister and promptly she calls you. You think about the acquaintance you haven't seen for a while and at that moment he comes walking around the corner. You dream about someone and the next day you run into him. That can't be a coincidence, can it?

Yup.

You probably think about your sister or acquaintance more often than not and nothing happens in those moments. And you often dreams about a random person, but usually an encounter in real life with that person does not happen afterwards. Just when the thought (or the dream) and the event do coincide, it makes an impression in a way that makes you label these moments as 'special' (and therefore better remembered), even though it is again nothing more than a probability calculation.

You can compare this to the chance of winning a prize at bingo. The more often you participate, the more likely you are to win something. The more often you think of your sister, the more likely she is to call you at that very moment.

Do you almost never think about a conscious acquaintance but he nevertheless comes around the corner at that one moment when you do think about him? OK, the chance was smaller in this case. Nevertheless: a small chance is also a chance! Even when you dreams about someone, there is always a chance that something 'happens' to happen in real life afterwards that relates to them.

So does coincidence exist?

Yes, there is such a thing. Driven by our own actions, dreams or thoughts combined with probability, nice things can indeed just 'happen' to us.

For fun, interesting, unusual, true stories about coincidence, click >HERE.

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