Atheists, how do you explain uncanny coincidences?

Question

I know I've asked this before, but I still have difficulty rationalizing this.

Why do such strange coincidences happen? Some things seem to go far beyond what is predicted by probability. For some examples, see this link:

http://www.oddee.com/item_82923.aspx

If you Google synchronicity, you can find millions of other examples of strange coincidences.

Also, so many people have had vivid, detailed dreams about things before they happen and they come true with every detail the same.
(By the way, I'm not talking about actual "psychics"...I'm talking about regular people that have these experiences...honest people that I know very well)

I've had a number of really strange coincidences in my life that seemed far too specific to have occurred because of chance.

I'm sure this sounds silly to you, but I'm not sure how to rationalize these experiences without the involvement of some higher power (I don't necessarily mean a specific deity, but some unknown power). It drives me crazy that I can't explain these things.

For example, sometimes I'll think of something really specific that I've never heard mentioned in mainstream culture and a moment later, I'll hear about it somewhere else (TV, radio, another person, etc.)

Answer 1

Today, right now, there are billions of amazing coincidence that AREN'T happening.



How many are on your list?





Thomas Kida outlines 6 mistakes we make in thinking:



Mistake #1: We prefer stories to statistics.



Mistake #2: We seek to confirm, not to question, our ideas.



Mistake #3: We rarely appreciate the role of chance and coincidence in shaping events.



Mistake #4: We sometimes misperceive the world around us.



Mistake #5: We tend to oversimplify our thinking.



Mistake #6: Our memories are often inaccurate





People that overemphasize coincidences are just making Mistake #3.

Answer 2

Once you factor in how many BILLIONS of people there are having dreams every single night, and how many dreams they have over the course of a lifetime, and what percentage of those dreams actually play out in waking life, it doesn't seem nearly so unreasonable.

Answer 3

Random chance and observer bias.

You never remember the times when you think of something and it doesn't occur.

Answer 4

Here's how I explain uncanny coincidences:



uncanny coincidences.

Answer 5

I would personally explain uncanny coincidences as coincidences which appear uncanny. erm... that's why they are called coincidence, and erm... uncanny.

Answer 6

Sometimes it's selective attention. For example you think of somebody and they call you. Right away you think that's an uncanny coincidence and that there's something more to it. At the same time you forget the 1000 other times when you thought of that person and they didn't call you.



In your example, the only reason that you noticed that something specific that was said somewhere else (TV, radio, etc) is because you thought about it beforehand, otherwise you'd most likely just ignore it.



And some people think that synchronicity is a result of the world being a holographic universe, but that's a whole different story.

Answer 7

"Atheists, how do you explain uncanny coincidences?"



They are uncanny coincidences.

Answer 8

I believe that coincidences exist, just not magical wizards who live in the sky.



edit: I saw the astrology episode of Penn and Teller's Bullsh*t last night and they had a section that addresses this issue. Two women had their horoscopes read then before showing what the astrologists said they asked the women to rate their accuracy, one gave 9 out of ten, the other 10 out of 10. Then they showed the actual readings. For every thing the astrologists got right they said at least 20 things that weren't true! The women involved just dismissed the multitude of inccorect responses and focused on the two or three things the astrologer happened to guess correctly, just like you are doing now.

Answer 9

Hmmm, well six billion people living, each having literally thousands of random thoughts every day...I would be shocked if there where NOT frequent coincidences. The shear volume of people ant thoughts, means there MUST be plenty of coincidences every single day. We are talking about 6,000,000,000,000 or more random thoughts a day on this planet! OF COURSE there are many coincidences. If even one in 1,000,000 random thoughts lead to a correlation as you describe, that would still give 6,000,000 conicidences per DAY!



But we have a tendancy just to remember the coincidence and not the myriad of times there was NO correlation.

Answer 10

It happens all the time. So what? Don't tell me that you think it has something to do with an imaginary God or something.

Answer 11

statistics my friend! honestly, in the car example from your link (I didn't bother reading any others) for example, if you think that millions and millions of car accidents happen every year, it would be much more shocking if there weren't a few cars which were involved in so many accidents!



as for your example of things you hear about from two places within moments of each other, well if you consider the vast amount of information we are exposed to and process every single day, then again, it would be more shocking if these pieces of information never did repeat themselves from different sources very close together every now and again. especially considering that if something is a hot topic it's going to be brought up all over the place.



statistically speaking, it would be a more notable phenomenon if coincidences like this never did occur. it would in fact be completely shocking and probably much stronger grounds to consider thinking up some supernatural explanation! the reason it seems the other way around on the surface is that our brains are very good at picking up patterns, and that we tend to notice coincidences much more strongly than we notice anything else. this is the reason that people still believe in tripe such as astrology; people are willing to overlook all the irrelevant twaddle that doesn't apply to them without a second thought, but as soon as a single generic 'prediction' in a horoscope or whatever even vaguely matches something that happened to them they are shocked :).



as for your implied question of whether these coincidences would be evidence of some kind of god, not at all! even if we are to entertain the conclusion that these coincidences are somehow unnatural, are you suggesting that there is some supernatural all powerful being somewhere who is more interested in cooking up obscure little coincidences to intrigue and confuse us, as opposed to feeding the hungry, eradicating genetic disease, overthrowing dictatorships, curing cancer etc?

Answer 12

Even amazing coincidences are just that...coincidences.



Even if these experiences are amazing and "can't be explained", that in no way strengthens the case for any supernatural concept. ALL it shows is that the experience is amazing or can't be explained. Trying to suggest that the fact that something amazes you, or you have a lack of explanation for it is evidence of supernatural powers is actually a contradiction. In effect, what it's saying is "I can't explain something, therefore I can explain it." The unexplained is just that...the unexplained.

Sometimes it's OK to just say, "I don't know." It's when people are unwilling to just acknowledge that they don't understand something that leads to people making up magical beings to explain them. While it might pacify them for the time being, it's in no way actually explained anything. It's the people who can't say "I don't know" that live their lives with a full lack of curiosity.

Answer 13

1. Human beings succeed by recognizing patterns. This also causes us to try to see patterns where they don't exist.

2. Confirmation bias. We focus on those things which confirm our prejudice and ignore contrary data, so the probabilities are skewed.

3. The cosmos operates in certain predictable ways over and over again. So certain types of events repeat at great frequency. That they seem of low probability to someone who is not trained as a statistician isn't really indicative of anything but the limitations of the observer.

Answer 14

A lottery ticket you buy may have only a single chance in millions of winning. However, the chances of your numbers being drawn are as good as the chances of any other combination of numbers.



Uncanny coincidences are a matter of limited perspective.

Answer 15

I am confused why you think anything you have mentioned has anything to do with god. I am a devout atheist and I was raised by devout atheists. However, I am fully aware of what some people call '6th sense'. This is merely a heightened awareness of what's going on around you in the world. Most people have it, and they would realize that if they weren't so involved with themselves and were more involved with the world. It has nothing to do with god.

Answer 16

Oh no! the odds were a billion to one! it must be a Miracle!



People seriously underestimate the amount of STUFF that there is.





Often think of a episode of the simpsons and then it will be on later.



It must be some kind of T.V guide spirite whispering silent truths into my ear.

Answer 17

i've had strange coincidences too, but the point is, they prove nothing. all we have asked and ever will ask is for your beleifs to be backed up with logical evidence.

Answer 18

as apagan atheist i usualyl contribue 'coincidences' to fate, connection to fate or ability to read fates 'design'

but as an atheist, i coudl also say it coudljsut be mathmatical probability and or cause and effect

Answer 19

Jungian collective consciousness.

Answer 20

i don't think these things are god working but i do think therethis is a higher power

Answer 21

a coincidence is just that.