Do Coincidences Have Meaning?

Discussion in 'Psychology' started by oldtime, Dec 2, 2011.

  1. Like when I started out, they said, "Sometimes, not only are you wrong, but you are exactly wrong." and man they weren't kidding.

    We've all been through times of what seems like exceptionally bad luck. But why when it goes the other way do I wonder if it is more than a coincidence?

    It all started when I went to the liscence branch to get my drivers liscence renewed and they had a new fangled computer and you were supposed to touch it to get a number, and before the printer even printed out my ticket the lady called my number. And the only reason I was there was because I had a short dollar short CHF short JPY position on that seemed to be doing allright without me babysitting. And ever since then, too many things seem to be going my way to be a coincidence.

    Yet, I have endured what most would have called the wrath of God and just dismissed it as bad luck.

    Is there such a thing as a coincidence? and does it have any meaning? or is it just a random thing that happens from time to time?

    Once it starts happening it is like a gate opening and you see all kinds of opportunity and risks so clearly and you don't even need to guess, the right path becomes so obvious. And then I guess soon I will commit some sin and make it all go away.

    When I beleived in God things eventually became very complicated, and when I finally got the courage to not beleive in God ( I never became an atheist, never saw the point in it) things got very simple, but then eventually they got complicated again and now it seems like beleiving in Him again would simplify things.

    Sort of like trending and chopping markets.
     
  2. to put it more succintly, when things are going bad I just write it off as bad luck which is nothing more than a series of coincidences. But when things are going good I have a need to assign some kind of meaning to it all and even begin to question if possibly there is some kind of devine intervention involved.
     
  3. I don't know , I think about this type of stuff a lot. If you ever want to watch some interesting stuff youtube quantum physics.

    I believe there had to be an intelligent designer and that nothing is coincidence but that is just me. I don't believe anything is truly random. A "random number generator " was created by someone so how can it be truly random?

    Bumping into an old friend at the store that you haven't seen in 10 years isn't coincidence. You both consciously choose to go to the same store at the same time.
     
  4. People might feel they don't deserve or feel worthy of the good "luck".
     
  5. If you haven't, read Sophocles "Oedipus Tyrannus". You want to talk about coincidences, how about being abandoned by your parents as a baby, meeting your father at a crossroads in the middle of nowhere decades later, killing him and then marrying your mother, all in confirmation of an obscure prophecy which your abandonment had been explicitly designed to thwart?
     
  6. true, that was my first thought, but maybe also a need to try to understand it's cause in an effort to preserve it or manufacture it at will.
     
  7. an old schoolteacher gave me an old copy of his old book. I used some of the info as a source of inspiration when I wrote computer music that had several different at first seemingly unrelated patterns which evolved over time until they finally for a while syncd up and then gradually deteriorated and went their separate ways.
     
  8. heypa

    heypa

    Over analysis leads to frustration.
    Cause and effect leads to frustration.
    Observe and react usually works.
    At least until you suspect ulterior motives.
    Then no stone is left unturned.
     
  9. jnbadger

    jnbadger

    I often wonder how guys like Paul Tudor Jones or Tom Baldwin were able to amass such huge fortunes at such a young age. Was it simply raw intelligence? I'm not so sure, simply because so many incredibly smart people have failed miserably in this business. Was it having the right intellectual and intuitive mindset for the market cycle they happened to be immersed in? In other words, was it just being in the right place at the right time?

    Or was it just simply a lack of fear, combined with knowing what the hell you are doing, regardless of market conditions? In other words, acute adaptability and confidence?

    I believe in a way that we will adapt with experience, and the strong survive. And I also believe that we make our own choices, whether that choice is to continue on a difficult path, or to keep trying new things until we find what seems right.

    But as I get older, I can't help but think there is something more involved. Is it ****physical? Is it a collective consciousness? I don't know.

    But I remember my daughter asking me if everything happens for a reason when she was around 5 years old, and my telling her "to some extent, but I would like to think we have some control over our lives". Now, when we have these conversations, it's much of the same answer, but in a much more intense manner on both sides. We both agree that we can make things happen if we really want to, but sometimes life just simply kicks your ass, or takes you for a great ride with little or no effort.
     
  10. Redneck

    Redneck

    JNB

    It’s simple – They were lucky

    Luck = preparation meets opportunity

    Preparation = able to keep losses small… able to press when right… prepared to risk some to make some

    Opportunity = price moved

    Consequentially – they nailed it


    I find the harder I work, the luckier I am

    Shame I didn't know this early on in life - but it is what it is

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    OT

    imo - The only time coincidences have meaning is when a person places meaning on them

    Shit happens all the time

    More due to cause and effect – than coincidence – I would surmise


    RN
     
    #10     Dec 3, 2011