Synchronicities and “the odds”
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by Kevin Bridges
Article ID: 1333
A synchronicity is another word for coincidence. The difference between the two is that, with a synchronicity, there is more to the event than mere coincidence. Events in a synchronicity are said to be a part of a deeper framework.
Everyone who uses this word has their own share of stories where “it just couldn’t happen by chance!” A common example is thinking of an old friend, and then shortly after, receiving a phone call. Guess who just called! Another example is, when singing a song to yourself, you turn on the radio and hear that very song. (In most stories I hear that the person was singing the exact same part of the song that was playing.) Some stories are more extraordinary. Carl Jung, the psychologist who coined the word “synchronicity”, told an oft-cited tale about a scarab beetle:
“A young woman I was treating had… a dream in which she was given a golden scarab… I turned round and saw a flying insect knocking against the window-pane from outside… It was the nearest analogy to a golden scarab that one finds in our latitudes… which contrary to its usual habits had evidently felt an urge to get into a dark room at this particular moment.”
Synchronicities, if you choose to call them that, can go from shrug-inducing to world-rocking. There is simply no way some of these things can happen by random chance. What are the odds?
But, that’s really the question, isn’t it? What are the odds? What are the real-world statistics for any of these chance occurrences?
A person’s first reaction may be indignation: “Well, it’s too complex to calculate!” You have to know the odds of uncountable real-world events to know the odds of the result. Let’s just call it one-in-a-million, and go eat lunch.
The odds truly are impossible to calculate, but not just because the systems involved are so complex. The impossibility comes from the fact that there are no repeatable parameters to define a synchronicity.
I’ll put it another way: After noticing that your new post office box is the same number as your girlfriend’s birthday, and you rented it the day before her birthday, what would you say the odds were of that happening? For the statistically uninclined, we’ll use something we can all agree is pretty unlikely: one-in-a-million.
But, what are the odds that tomorrow you experience a synchronicity – any synchronicity? The odds aren’t one-in-a-million any more, are they? Maybe one-in-a-hundred? With those odds, you might notice a synchronicity every three months and ten days. Or does one-in-fifty sound better? Maybe. You agree with me now, but the next time it happens – the next time you find your middle name spelled out in the alphabet soup – you’re right back to saying “one-in-a-million”.
And that is the problem. There is no specific definition for a synchronicity until it has happened. All analysis must be done after the fact. You don’t know the parameters until after your old friend has called. They include how often you think of the person, and how often the person calls you, time of day, and a number of other things influencing the call. And don’t forget, if you’re going to go through this level of effort, it’s just as important to figure out the odds for this specific situation happening, as well as any kind of synchronicity.
I sat down to write this article, and then a recently-neutered cat walked into the room, yowling. What are the odds of this happening? It’s true that the two things don’t seem to be related. But if they did, it would be as meaningful as any synchronicity. After all, what are the odds that a freshly-neutered cat would walk in my room when I started writing? One in a million? But if I post this not-so-amazing event on a paranormal forum, do you think anyone will pay attention?
Yes, the odds of any one synchronicity happening are very low. But, when you confuse a specific synchronicity happening with any synchronicity happening, you’re awarding the wrong odds, since the odds of any synchronicity happening are quite high.
I’m not saying that a synchronicity isn’t supernatural. What I am saying is that, in a world without the supernatural, wild coincidences would still occur, because you don’t need the supernatural to have synchronicity. All you need is the human mind.
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