I normally wouldn't follow up a thread on this topic but when I saw the "Please be respectful", I was curious what reaction it would spark. I didn't even think about posting until I saw Liland's post about the meaning of coincidence. It reminded me of a book by a writer/philosopher who some here might recognize, Arthur Koestler.

Koestler became facinated by the work of a German herpatologist who was raising midwife toads and had gotten extraordinary results from the genetic studies he had done with these creatures. He seemed to be changing their species by changing their environment. I don't mean he was changing them in a series of generation, this was happening in a single generation. It seemed like proof of Lysenkoism.

The German herpatologist had a hobby. He studied coincidence. He watched for it in his own life and in the lives of others. He classified it into different types and looked for meaning. Koestler had come across references to the work in the late scientist's journals and in the finished book he went into some detail on the scientist's hobby.

The book was called, "The Case of the Midwife Toad". If it sounds familiar, you might have seen it ten years ago in the PBS series, "NOVA".

Koestler was so fascinated by the topic that he wrote an additional book, this time called "The Roots of Coincidence". In it, he studied the methods, conclusion and meaning of coincidence.

Sourdough