QOTD: Synchronicity

[bradm]

To me, I sometimes feel that ideas have lives and lifespans as much as any living organism, and that some ideas, once born can spring up in the minds of many- thus becoming a connecting point between individuals.

Human interaction backs this up to a degree, you associate and interact with people whose ideas about the world you can relate to, ideas that make sense; conversely those who's views of the world differ from yours, you relate to less depending on how they differ, on what issues they differ and how much you know about their views.

And those whose idea are similar to yours become more ingrained or connected the more you get to know them, thus those ideas that you share connect you, potentially quite profoundly (think of how some people can complete each others sentences, or even can complete each others thoughts)

I think this may be at the root of sychronistic 'events', that in the case of deschamps and Fontgibu, when their 'orbits' crossed the one thing/symbol that deschamps associated with his acquaintence came to mind, which may in turn have caused him to get the pudding....

anyway i gotta stop rambling before i get carried away here

There's actually a whole field of study, memetics, that deals with how ideas work in society.

And don't worry about getting carried away...if they haven't come for you by now, I think you're clear for life...

Aloha,

Brad

[Davey Boy 2.0]

holy crap, i'm ignoring that day i met you on the bus after that DMB show at the corel centre, Brad!

you had the Phish shirt on, I was drunk and surly

fecking cosmic!

[TomFoolery]

Timouse - nice hit - touché :-)

I will still maintain its all chaos, though. This allows for a lot of freaky factors to play a part without needing a higher 'meaning'...

[Guest Low Roller]

Every time I see Andre, he's drunk. Never fails.

[bradm]

Not only that, but you had a Phil shirt on! Don't you see, it was coincidental, right down to the first three letters of the names of the artist on our shirts!

And it gets worse, for me: I had actually had an e-mail from a guy that very day, telling me about a band called "nero". See, he had placed an ad looking for an under-30 female singer for his "jamband", and I took a chance that he might want/need a guitar player...He said they didn't, but that if I liked jambands, I should check out nero...I wonder what ever became of his band...

Aloha,

Brad

[MarcO]

not quite a bolt from the blue, but just two weeks ago Laurie and I went into a Blockbuster to rent a couple of movies, totally on a whim. Within a few minutes we remembered that TimmyB had offered to loan us a few we hadn't seen from his collection, so let's give him a call and see if we can come over and grab them. We step outside and as we discuss which store has the closest payphone, suddenly up steps TimmyB, who was heading to the same Blockbuster. So off we went to get some movies from him. My God, you should see his apartment.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

is it clean?

[MarcO]

I'm surprised he can find his ass in that place.

[Booche]

Everytime I am around Low Roller, I have to get wasted so I can deal with his idealistic views on morality and ethics.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

the craziest thing just happened

i've been getting calls over the last couple of days, mostly when i'm away from my desk, numbers that I don't recognise.

I did take a call this morning and a woman asked for "Lewis Smith" (not his real name). Wrong number.

She then double checks the number while on the phone with me and tells me that this dude included this (my) phone number on a job posting; meanwhile, the name kinda rings a bell in my mind, i go through my little stack of business cards and lo and behold I pull out his business card! Turns out he and I were at a meeting together, many months ago- at the time he didn't even work for the gov't- i just emailed him and boom! yes it is the same guy, he'd been given my phone number and it was the one he used in the job description, no sooner than he'd sent the letter he was given a new number

maybe i should check out this job posting...

Edited December 8, 2005 by Guest
mrcharlietoldmeso

[Kaidy Mae]

I'm not really sure what to call them, but strange occurrances like this seem to happen to me all the time. The most recent crazy happening involves a fellow skank.

As some folks on here know, I've been helping Lacey search high and low for a new apartment in Toronto. After three months of daily searches, I was so sick of looking. I think he was starting to wonder why in the hell he ever even moved here. Alas, he FINALLY finds a room at Christie Pits. Yay! A few weeks after the move Lacey was tidying up some paper work and noticed the name of the last tenant. It was none other than Mike Filipowitsch of Burt Neilson fame. Fucked up.

I thought it was an interesting coincidence, but I think Lacey figures I just know too many people.

[Tooly]

speaking of blockbuster coincidences, we were strolling thru there and i noticed a jay-z movie had been released, so i says to melis, i says, man i wonder if theyd ever release that phish show with jayz, id like to see that, have a chuckle, sure enough, the next day the announcment came out that phish is releasing that jayz show

[Guest Low Roller]

Back in the day when I used to have a TV I remember frequently thinking of a Simpsons episode, and then that episode would play on TV a day or two later.

[Del]

Back in the day when I used to have a TV I remember frequently thinking of a Simpsons episode, and then that episode would play on TV a day or two later.

That happens to me all the time.

[TheGoodRev]

well i suppose the bar's kinda high with that example- there are some that think of these "meaningful coincidences" could even be as simple as these types of scenarios (although the site i found them on seems pretty 'flakey'):

- There are in your life when financial difficulties seem to have no end. Yet there is always enough money for basic expenses...rent, food, utilities. Finances seem to appear where and when they are needed.

- You have just received your last check from unemployment when suddenly a job comes along.

- You walk into a book store not knowing what to buy, and the book you need falls from a shelf and practically hits you over the head.

- You have been feeling ill with no apparent cure. You are out for the day and meet someone who knows a doctor or healer with the answers.

- There is a sudden relocation which seems to be for one reason, and you find much more than you bargained for.

- You finally end a bad relationship and immediately another partner comes into your life.

- You feel depressed and can't find focus in your life and the next person you talk you says something that brings you the guidance you need.

- Everyone's favorite.....You drive to a place where parking is "next to impossible" and someone pulls out of a parking spot or it is just waiting for you.

Personally I find it hard to see any meaning in finding a parking space, but I do know that there have been times in my life where some heavy shit's going down and my Mum will call out of the blue and rather than saying "Hi, how are you", she'll say "Is everything alright with you?"

It's only happened once or twice but it's pretty freaky at the same time.

I also used to be convinced that she could smell beer over the phone, but that was when I was 18 or younger, so being young dumb and full of booze might have been a factor in that 'illusion'.

Guys, I'm sorry, but these and all the rest are just coincidences. I experience them too, but that's just the way it is. Yeah, it's nice when things connect and money comes in at the last moment when you need it, but that doesn't happen for everybody. That's why there are homeless people; whatever money they were in need of before they were evicted simply didn't come in. I'm sure everybody here knows somebody who has relocated to a new city with plans for a new job and such, and things just didn't work out for them, and they ended up moving back or away to a new place. And when you think about it, how many times has a full parking lot caused you to be late, as opposed to that one magic spot opening up and you get there on time? Yeah, it happens sometimes, but most often it doesn't.

If you accept that these things happen "for a reason" then you must question why they happen to some people and not others, or why they happen to some people some of the time and not other times. From there you get into all kinds of issues pertaining to whether certain people 'deserve' to have these things happen, or whether they happen because of other things that they've done or because they are good people or whatever, which implies some sort of omnipotent power who watches and tallies things that we do and causes these things to happen.

So, yes. Coincidences is what they are.

[questcequecest?]

that's the thing about synchronicity, it's always in the last place you look.

[Thorgnor]

Synchronicity is a psychological principle, a patterning of thought describing mental acts involvingthe reckognition of memory and the corelation of these memories with the current circumstances of reality. Matching your remembrances with your current perspective. Therefore the principle of synchronicity is valid for an individual if it is a part of their cognitive patterning and not a valid description of the cognitive patterning of someone who does not accept the thoery.

The theory itself helps not to describe the existence of a god but the existence of a pattern in the outside (of the body) reality. A pattern in the perspective of humanity, and the workings of our brain that extends beyond culture. It describes the synchronic usage of thousands of minds all accross our planet and the possible connection between thought, matter and time. Synchronicity needs no reason.

Coincidence, chance and chaos are all words describing things other than the theory of synchronicity.

[TomFoolery]

I don't think the phenomenon of what people dub synchronicity is outside the realm of the possible explanations from chaos theory. Chaos just gives a more scientific bent on it than some dreamy "trip we're all a part of man..."

[Davey Boy 2.0]

I'd have to agree with you, GoodRev, that those examples are pretty fecking poor and that there's a distinct line between dumb luck and something that you can interpret as meaningful

but i'd feel remiss in dismissing outright the possibility of the semi-conscious and unconscious aspects that contribute, for insatnce, to decisionmaking on a more minute level. perhaps these more elaborate 'meaningful coincidences' are a glimpse into the makeup of such minutiae

realistically though, i'm just talkin out my arse :crazy:

[bradm]

realistically though, i'm just talkin out my arse :crazy:

Could be worse. You could be talking into yer arse.

Aloha,

Brad

[Davey Boy 2.0]

realistically though' date=' i'm just talkin out my arse :crazy: [/quote']

Could be worse. You could be talking into yer arse.

Aloha,

Brad

i leave that up to booche, the filthy feltcher

but i digress

[deranger]

I don't think it implies a higher power at all. Or suggest that it implies that things "happened for a reason". But the power of positive thinking or intense direction of the will can have effects that seem to be of a higer power. But you're right to point out any number of things can occur to people that fly directly into the face of all that directed positive thinking. I think once you start to see that it's not simply random chance or coincidence is when you begin to see the real-time, actual effects of your will/thoughts on the nature of your reality.

A fairly intersting movie on this subject is "What the Bleep Do We Know?" Not the best movie ever, but addresses some intersting questions like these.

[TheGoodRev]

Synchronicity is a psychological principle, a patterning of thought describing mental acts involvingthe reckognition of memory and the corelation of these memories with the current circumstances of reality. Matching your remembrances with your current perspective. Therefore the principle of synchronicity is valid for an individual if it is a part of their cognitive patterning and not a valid description of the cognitive patterning of someone who does not accept the thoery.

The theory itself helps not to describe the existence of a god but the existence of a pattern in the outside (of the body) reality. A pattern in the perspective of humanity, and the workings of our brain that extends beyond culture. It describes the synchronic usage of thousands of minds all accross our planet and the possible connection between thought, matter and time. Synchronicity needs no reason.

Coincidence, chance and chaos are all words describing things other than the theory of synchronicity.

Ah, so I was mistaken. I thought it was basically an argument for fate. The way you've described it is interesting. Does the theory claim some kind of supernatural and/or telepathic and/or otherworldly psychological connection between people? Or is it referring to the power of the human mind and influence that unites people with similar ideas? Or am I way off?

[Im going home Donny]

I'd have to agree with you, GoodRev, that those examples are pretty fecking poor and that there's a distinct line between dumb luck and something that you can interpret as meaningful

but i'd feel remiss in dismissing outright the possibility of the semi-conscious and unconscious aspects that contribute, for insatnce, to decisionmaking on a more minute level. perhaps these more elaborate 'meaningful coincidences' are a glimpse into the makeup of such minutiae

realistically though, i'm just talkin out my arse :crazy:

one love baby! one day the scientists will be able to explain it further.

[Thorgnor]

"Ah, so I was mistaken. I thought it was basically an argument for fate. The way you've described it is interesting. Does the theory claim some kind of supernatural and/or telepathic and/or otherworldly psychological connection between people? Or is it referring to the power of the human mind and influence that unites people with similar ideas? Or am I way off?" TGR

It does make use of the Jungian principles of universal human subconcious, which is posited as the unifying systemic nature of human thought/mind. That we think a certain way and that because of this we all share certain thought groupings. It's not about any psychic link other than that brains are all "alike" and therefore certian things about how they work will be the "same". So any ideas reminiscent of links or joinings of mind are misunderstandings of the similarity of form being described. Jung theorises the mind as a type of ordering tool and that the ordering patterns of these tools will possess an overarching form.