Synchronicity is...

[Sinister]

This is a debate. I'm mediator, which means, I'm going to preclude myself from taking part in it whatsoever, my views being unimportant.

To the following:

Synchronicity is a mental or metaphysical phenomenon in which related topics appear in daily life in seemingly unrelated instances. Many people find these instances as a source of divine dialogue between the deity/metaphysical force and the faithful.

Suppose you were deciding to invest money in the stock market and decide to think it over. By pure "chance" you find a copy of an investors guide thrown in with your mail. The guide wasn't addressed to you, but possibly to a neighbor. This is Synchronicity.

The question I ask of you is not necessarily one of religion. No true deity need be involved. One could simply write it down as fate or luck or some secular phenomenon.

The question I ask is... Is this occurence chance or purposeful?

I remind the debators that "Even in a world that opperates largely at random, coincidence are to be expected but can also be mistrusted and with good reasoning."

-Sin

[Victoria]

There is no such thing as coincidence.
There is only hitzuzen.

~ Yuko
-------------------------------------------------
Seriously, though. I believe in Luck/Fate. Things happen for a reason, more or less, but at the same time, if you have enough will power, you can go against it.

I've honestly not had any of that happen to me, though. I wish it did. It'd be really nice. Or well, I guess something like that did happen to me. I met the girl I'm going out with purely by chance at an anime website that I go to.

But that's the only thing that's really happened to me so far.

Edit: ...I'm not much of a debater.. I answered the topic like it was in general chat. I'm sorry. >_<

[Angantyr]

You notice it because you're thinking of it most of the time. I'm willing to bet throughout the day there is many situations in which you may see something that would interest you in such a way but at the time you're not realizing it. It's like if you're listening to a band and stumble across a band poster or like me with the Blind Guardian thread.

However in saying that I do feel there are times where is does feel like it was meant to happen. Not for me personally as life has an ironic way of pissing on me but there are many situations where such just seem to fit, probably for the above reason but happens to the luckiest of us.

[SOLDIER #819]

I remember hearing that it would be stranger if coincidences did not happen at all. As far as averages go, you're going to inevitably hit that small chance representing your "coincidence" at some point, given enough time. I'm guessing an analogy would be the monkey who randomly and continuously taps away at a typewriter being able to replicate a Shakespearean work word-for-word if given an infinite amount of time.

A lot of coincidences could also just be the work of circumstance. With Sinister's investing example, Angantyr's example works fine. You are always thinking about investing and that guide is going to end up at your doorstep at some point.

Another way is to say that factors influence the world in similar ways. You may have thought about investing for some time, but reading Sinister's example it wasn't until the person had DECIDED to look into investing that the guide appeared. But then, there was probably a reason you decided to begin with. It could be that the popularity of investing was on the rise. You've been hearing about it more often from your family/friends/co-workers/newspaper/TV/etc., which sort of gives you the final push to go for it. But then, businesses also know that there is a growing interest in stock trade, and decide to send out their materials to pull people in. So it may appear to be just a coincidence, but really there are underlying variables that impact all sides and prompt them to move in some fashion.

What's interesting is that by instinct we tend to assume that we are affected by various things, but that the world itself continues on some predetermined course regardless. When something "lucky" happens, the world spontaneously changes to fit our whims. I guess it's easier for us as humans to think that way.