Coincidence

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Coincidence is the noteworthy alignment of two or more events or circumstances without obvious causal connection. The word is derived from the Latin co- ("in," "with," "together") and incidere ("to fall on").

The index of coincidence can be used to analyze whether two events are related. A coincidence does not prove a relationship, but related events may be expected to have a higher index of coincidence. From a statistical perspective, coincidences are inevitable and often less remarkable than they may appear intuitively. The odds that two people share a birthday, for example, reaches 50% with a group of just 22[1] (see the Birthday paradox).

Remarkable coincidences sometimes lead to claims of psychic phenomena or conspiracy theories. Some researchers (see Charles Fort and Carl Jung) have compiled thousands of accounts of coincidences and other supposedly anomalous phenomena.

In optics, coincidence is also used to refer to two or more incident beams of light that strike the same point at the same time.

  • Jung, Carl G.: Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1973.
  • Arthur Koestler: The Roots of Coincidence
  • NO Coincidence NO TIME

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