BS: Weird Coincidences

25 Jan 13 - 12:01 PM (#3471265)
Subject: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Ebbie

There are many coincidences (if there is such a thing. Heads up, Bill!) but one struck me the other day...

I've never assigned any particular significance to numbers but here is an odd one:

When I was 13 years old, my family left Oregon- and I started a new life.
When I was 26 years old (13 x 2) I left my husband - and started a new life.
When I was 52 years old (13 x 2) I left Oregon for Alaska - and started a new life.
When I was/will be this year 78 years old (13 x 2)I lost my home due to fire - and started a new life.

Given this formula, I would venture to guess that I will live 13 more years. :)

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25 Jan 13 - 12:06 PM (#3471270)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Pete Jennings

Plenty of time to brush up on your multiplication, then! LOL.

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25 Jan 13 - 12:11 PM (#3471273)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: GUEST,999

Ninety-one's a nice round number, Eb.

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25 Jan 13 - 12:17 PM (#3471277)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Bill D

*head rising to attention*... sniff... sniff... Do I detect a clever bit of interesting arithmetical calculation, suggesting the hypothetical concept that it might all be significant in some unknown realm of cosmic causation, indicating a predictive factor with subjective, if not universal relevance?

why..... perhaps... ;>)

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25 Jan 13 - 12:18 PM (#3471278)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Little Hawk

It's a very interesting repeating pattern, Ebbie. You may be onto something there. Rather than coincidences, these might be called correspondences.

We call something a "coincidence" when we notice that it corresponds to something else, but we don't know why. When we don't notice it at all (which I think is very often the case), we don't call it anything at all. ;-)

There are basically 2 schools of philosophical outlook among people. The first school sees itself in a Universe where things happen by chance...by accident...according to blind physical laws...therefore with no purpose or awareness.

The other sees itself in a Universe where everything fits into a meaningful pattern, and everything is interrelated, and has some purpose (although that doesn't mean we know what that purpose is).

The former school would see your pattern as mere "coincidence" (without meaning). The latter school would see your pattern as meaningful...therefore susceptible to some interpretation as to what that meaning might be.

Anyone of a mystical bent tends to favor the latter school. And religious people also favor it. Most materialists (and/or cynics or anti-religious people) tend to favor the former school.

In any case, everyone shares this ONE thing in common. They like to think they're right! ;-D

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25 Jan 13 - 12:19 PM (#3471279)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Bill D

♫"Sing ninety-nine and ninety"♫

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25 Jan 13 - 12:21 PM (#3471281)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: olddude

I love patterns, works right in with my chaos theory. Now using the same pattern, next 13 years Eb you will be a rich lady with a 21 year old man on a beach in Hawaii. So prepare to be a cougar

Love you
Dan

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25 Jan 13 - 12:24 PM (#3471284)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: DMcG

All my children have two names. If you count the syllables, the first born has 1+3, the second 2+2 and the 3rd 3+1. This was not intentional in any way, but is presumably something to do with how long a name 'feels right', with the correlation of birth order and first name length entirely coincidental.

I suppose we could have still fitted the system if we'd had a fourth, but fifth would have been a bit of a challenge.

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25 Jan 13 - 12:25 PM (#3471286)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Little Hawk

I think there's a statute of limitations on just how looooong one can be a cougar, isn't there? And where (and when) did that expression start, anyway? I think it's weird.

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25 Jan 13 - 12:35 PM (#3471289)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Amos

I think a great deal of pomposity and harumphing is inevitable when an innocent observation like Eb's is presented. Of which this thread to date is only the latest evidence.

The fact is that the scope of individual consciousness is a glaring, crashing unknown in mainstream human discussion. In a similar vein the actual nature of the interactions between consciousness and the worlds in which we live (plural, intentional) is another crashing unknown.

In the medieval era, a lot of unknowns were "solved" by adopting wildly aberrative stable answers, such as "mystic influence of the stars being herded around by angels" and the like. Or the work of Satan, or his myriad minions. In modern times, we habe promulgated the same appetite for fending off the unknown by ignoring consciousness and focusing entirely on the sphere of mechanics. But I submit that the notion that "all is mechanism" is as superstitious in its use today as the notion "all is angels of God" was in 1300.

From this perspective Jung, and more recently, Ebbie, may be opening doors when they study the relationship between individual consciousness and the meaningful coincidences we call "synchronicity". As Little Hawk points out, when coincidences are not meaningful we don't call them much of anything. This invites cynicism from the materialist camp, but the same cynicism may be applied equally well to the predilection to ignore coincidences which seem to align with the intentions of one or more universes of consciousness.

It may be useful, however, to add that the material universe itself is not a universe of consciousness, but a universe of aggregation, reaction, entropy, densification, and force. These are very much not attributes of consciousness.

A

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25 Jan 13 - 12:44 PM (#3471296)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Little Hawk

Perhaps, Amos. Perhaps not. In any case, you have stated it all beautifully. "synchronicity" is probably the best word for it. Another might be "resonance"...like the overtones and harmonics that are produced when a musical note is sounded.

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25 Jan 13 - 12:56 PM (#3471303)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Amos

It would be awful to be a peaceful pond
Into which a huge stone was suddenly cast, breaking the peace,
Disturbing every dimension with chaos and ripples.
But, on reflection, how much worse
To be the stone.


A

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25 Jan 13 - 12:58 PM (#3471307)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Little Hawk

Hmmm. Good analogy.

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25 Jan 13 - 01:00 PM (#3471309)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Ebbie

OK, Pete, make that one 4 x 13- don't change nuttin'.

"..."hypothetical concept that it might all be significant in some unknown realm of cosmic causation, indicating a predictive factor with subjective, if not universal relevance?" Like I said, Bill. :)

old dude: "...next 13 years Eb you will be a rich lady with a 21 year old man on a beach in Hawaii." I like that, Dan. As long as the 21 year old is my handyman.

I don't have any idea where 'cougar' came from- unless perhaps it is in reference to a predator?

I agree with Amos. I think. :)

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25 Jan 13 - 01:02 PM (#3471310)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Ebbie

Amos, we - human beings - are each the stone.

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25 Jan 13 - 01:05 PM (#3471312)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Little Hawk

Yes, I think that's right. We're like little stones cast into a pond. Every now and then a BIG stone comes along...like Napoleon, Caesar, or Hitler. One way or another the pond always sets itself back in order.

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25 Jan 13 - 01:21 PM (#3471314)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: GUEST,999

My fave Ripple

WTF Ripple

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25 Jan 13 - 01:35 PM (#3471319)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Ebbie

9, your mind is bent. I like that. :)

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25 Jan 13 - 02:02 PM (#3471332)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: GUEST,999

Why, thank you Ebbie.

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25 Jan 13 - 02:28 PM (#3471345)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Ebbie

:)

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25 Jan 13 - 03:41 PM (#3471367)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Bill D

Gee, Ebbie... you practically dared me to make a remark; I thought it might at least be worthy of my reputation! *grin*

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25 Jan 13 - 03:46 PM (#3471370)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: gnu

The onlty thing boring is YOUR post, Fuckwit.

"As long as the 21 year old is my handyman." Hahahahaa!

You growl girl!

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25 Jan 13 - 03:47 PM (#3471372)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: JohnInKansas

Isn't the real conclusion here that it takes about 13 years for Ebbie to get bored and decide to do something different? (Or maybe just to decide that the last change shouldn't be the last change.)

The fire, presumedly (we hope) wasn't something that she decided to do (?) so we can call it coincidental that it just happens to fit into the same sequence, but of course she was probably due for a change anyway ... .

John

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25 Jan 13 - 05:02 PM (#3471407)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: gnu

Well, next time, I hope it's not so drastic!

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25 Jan 13 - 10:11 PM (#3471492)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: GUEST,999

There are times you are one smart sonuvagun, Gargoyle.

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25 Jan 13 - 10:18 PM (#3471498)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: JohnInKansas

JohniK, my mind changes a lot more often than that!

Sure, but obviously you don't always do something drastic about every little thing. You gotta work your way up to the big ones by practicing on the little ones that you didn't count.

John

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26 Jan 13 - 03:47 AM (#3471552)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: DMcG

Just being playing with a music search programme called Kooplet: give it a few notes and it will search the internet for scores containing them. As a test I put in six notes at more or less random and it found a few pieces of which the third was one called "Binny's Jigg" which I didn't know.

Binny has been my daughter's nickname for around 25 years - and she is, of course, a keen dancer.

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24 Sep 24 - 10:44 PM (#4208815)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Mrrzy

Ok, this was weird.

Text from unknown number, are you home? I was expecting such a text from a nephew, so I texted him asking if he was texting me from a different number. No, but I was just about to ask, are you home? Haha, I said, that was the strange text.

I don't answer texts from unknown numbers.

A few whiles later, same strange number calls, and as I am not answering, I get a text from nephew, I'm here. Weird number is calling, I say. Weird, he says, I was going to call but changed my mind...

So weird text comes as nephew is thinking of texting, and weird call while nephew was thinking of calling. The weird text was what my nephew would have texted. No idea if the call was, too!

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25 Sep 24 - 12:14 PM (#4208835)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Mr Red

We can all make connections and see patterns. It is what humans evolved to do. Let's face it, literally, it helps us read people. And that strange shape we just imagined could be the man-eating tiger about to pounce or our next meal if we are quick.

Like it or not, we need to see patterns, because we can rationalise them at leisure. As long as they are called coincidences it amuses us. Or warnings with scams etc. Anything else is waste of our "cool, calm, and collectedness".

Now I must go looking for that bright red right angle USB cable......... or did someone sneak into my house and move it to a very logical hiding place with a logic that no coincidence can put into my noggin!

late news - in my "laptop" rucksack, now what logic is that? I ask you

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25 Sep 24 - 01:24 PM (#4208841)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: MaJoC the Filk

> or did someone sneak into my house and move it
> to a very logical hiding place with a logic that
> no coincidence can put into my noggin

That sounds suspiciously like the phenomenon that in our house causes someone to solemnly intone "It's been put Somewhere Safe".

I've evolved a trick for something that's been mislaid. If it takes a long time to find it, don't leave it Somewhere Safe which happens to be logical; if you're not about to use it immediately, leave it where it is, as you're more likely to remember where you found it than a newly-minted Somewhere Safe (whose logic will evaporate once you leave the room).

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26 Sep 24 - 06:28 PM (#4208894)
Subject: RE: BS: Weird Coincidences
From: Mrrzy

Garek, from ST DS9:

I believe in coincidence. Coincidences happen every day. But I don't TRUST coincidence...

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