Coincidence- is it just timing or are there greater power at work

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superojsimpson

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#1  Edited By superojsimpson

TWO sisters decided to pay a surprise visit to each other. As they travelled in opposite directions along a rural highway in America, their identical jeeps collided and both were killed. Is this just coincidence or are there greater forces at work, bringing us closer than we ever thought possible? A fascinating new book, Beyond Coincidence, examines this baffling phenomenon. Here CLARE MORRISROE describes the most bizarre stories of them all...

THE KEY

CALIFORNIAN Williard Lovell locked herself out of her house. She spent 10 minutes trying to find a way in when the postman handed her a letter from her brother. In it was the spare key he had taken back to Washington after a visit.

TWO LAURAS

IN June 2001, 10-year-old Laura Buxton of Burton, Staffs, was at a party where she wrote her name and address on a luggage label, attached it to a helium balloon and released it into the sky. It floated 140 miles until finally coming to rest in the garden of another 10-year-old Laura Buxton, in Pewsey, Wilts. The girls got in touch and became friends, upon which they found each had fair hair, owned a black Labrador, guinea pig and rabbit.[continued]
 
Similar stories?

When I was fifteen, an older friend and I took a 250 [roundtrip] mile bicycle ride from a suburb of Los Angeles to a camping area in the mountains above the town of Hemet. The trip out required about 18 hours of pedaling; much of it either up hill and/or through the desert. Since for a good part of the trip the primary highway was off limits to cyclists, for about eight of the eighteen hours we road along miles and miles of hot, flat, lonely desert roads that were well off the beaten tract. Right about the time I thought we had actually arrived at the middle of nowhere, being about eighty miles from my home and forty miles from any significant population centers, far ahead we noticed a small figure emerging from the blurry heat layer above the road. As we approached what we could then see was a rider on a horse, I finally saw that it was a fellow classmate - a girl from my [current] ninth grade class. It turned out that her family owned land out there and often spent weekends in the desert. She was the only person that we saw for many hours.

This is the one that really gets me. At age sixteen I was a complete off-road motorcycle nut. I often went to a place called El Mirage dry lake bed with one or several friends for some desert biking. The lake bed is surrounded by miles and miles of sand dunes and hills. On one unlucky occasion, while riding with just one other friend we got lost in the dunes. We had no visible points of reference and had gotten completely turned around. Having about one gallon of gasoline left in our tanks and only a little water, and since it was about a hundred degrees out that day…at least, we agreed that the situation was serious and we started a systematic search for the truck. After about 30 minutes, since we seemed to be even more lost than before we agree to each ride opposite directions to two visible high points for a look. Well, let me tell you, those sand dunes are quite confounding; before long we lost each other. Since I couldn’t hear or see my riding partner I started getting really worried. Finally I decided to start a large circular pattern and rode for another fifteen minutes or so and saw nothing even vaguely familiar. Now I was getting really, really worried but what to do? Gas is getting low…oh sh*t! Again I started out with some other plan. No sooner has I started out around a dune that directly ahead was the truck AND my riding partner who was coming from the opposite direction. He also had just spotted the truck. I couldn’t believe my eyes!
 
so, have you ever questioned yourself how these things really work?

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utotheg38

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#2  Edited By utotheg38

I believe that everything Is Chaos. And that coincidence IS only a product of chaos.

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GTG12

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#3  Edited By GTG12

Those are some amazing stories.
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superojsimpson

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#4  Edited By superojsimpson

I had a strange coincidence occur this morning. For some reason I thought about a guy who had done some work for me in the past - a software engineer who has since moved to New Mexico. Since he moved last year he has emailed me twice, and only in response to specific questions.

This morning, for some reason I was thinking about him and his response when, during his last visit, I told him about my work with algae as an alternative energy source. He was most enthusiastic and I wondered it he had given it any more thought. A little while later when I checked my email, I had one from him about the new mileage standards for cars that Congress has been considering. As nearly as I can tell, it was sent at almost the exact time that I was thinking about him.

He has no role in the business and I have no idea why I would think of him. Since he moved he is pretty much out of the picture.

Very odd.

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sesquipedalophobe

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#5  Edited By sesquipedalophobe

Ten years ago, my friend tried to set me up on a blind date. I thought dating was lame and I refused. Her friend's friend had also refused. We never saw each other. We went to the same school, frequented the same stores and had the same friends, sort of. One day my friend mentioned that she worked at the mall in the candy booth and I blew her off. A week later I was shopping for ties and I passed by to see the most beautiful dark-skinned girl with curly hair staring at me from the candy booth and I nervously and quickly made an exit.

Four years ago, a group of new people were hired on to help stock and remodel my store. She was among them, but I couldn't place her face. She kept trying to talk to me and I kept making fun of her. When she asked if she could ask a question I replied, "You just did." She eventually slid her way into my group of friends and started talking to me. She had been using her middle name for work, but her name sounded familiar. I talked to my friend over the phone telling her about this beautiful girl I worked with and she said, "You idiot, you should have hooked up with her years ago."

She's my best friend now. It's sort of strange.

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superojsimpson

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#6  Edited By superojsimpson

The other night, I found out that a neighbor of mine, her father was one of my profs in college. How big a coincidence is that? The population of the Philly metro area is about 5 million, so is it 5 million to 1? Certainly not - I can probably think of a dozen ways to trim the sample size to reduce the odds. For starters, I probably had 20 profs that fit the demographic - so now it's 1:250,000. But then what fraction of the original sample fit the demographic of middle-aged males? 1/8? And how tight do I make the demographics? - she's Israeli and I probably only had two Israeli profs, but then there are probably also a very small number of Israelis in the Philly area. It becomes impossible to calculate the odds, but you can see how easy it is to make them very reasonable.

And what about all the other possible coincidences that didn't happen - how do we factor those in? What if I had met her in college? Would that be a bigger coincidence? Considering her dad was an engineering prof at my school, she took engineering (for a little while...), and our times at school partially overlapped, it is almost a bigger coincidence that we didn't meet!

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Rudyftw

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#7  Edited By Rudyftw

It's like when you're thinking of a song or something, and someone says it or sings it.  
 
Its pretty creepy.

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superojsimpson

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#8  Edited By superojsimpson
@Rudyftw: dude. cum to my thread.
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JediXMan

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#9  Edited By JediXMan  Moderator

Sometimes coincidence is just that. But sometimes, I suppose, it could mean something.
 
I lead an interesting life. I suffer from veja vu quite often, swearing that I experienced that exact moment before. It happens a lot to me, and I find that weird. I'll even have dreams involving moments I will have

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god_spawn

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#10  Edited By god_spawn  Moderator
@JediXMan said:

Sometimes coincidence is just that. But sometimes, I suppose, it could mean something.  I lead an interesting life. I suffer from veja vu quite often, swearing that I experienced that exact moment before. It happens a lot to me, and I find that weird. I'll even have dreams involving moments I will have

Same with me. Weird?
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Billy Batson

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#11  Edited By Billy Batson
@JediXMan said:
I lead an interesting life. I suffer from veja vu quite often, swearing that I experienced that exact moment before. It happens a lot to me, and I find that weird. I'll even have dreams involving moments I will have

Same. 

BB