Coincidence

A coincidence is a surprising concurrence of events, perceived as meaningfully related, with no apparent causal connection (Diaconis and Mosteller 1989). Given a large number of events, extremely unlikely coincidences are possible--and perhaps even common. To quote Sherlock Holmes from "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," "Amid the action and reaction of so dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be presented which may be striking and bizarre..." (Conan Doyle 1892, p. 245).

REFERENCES:

Bogomolny, A. "Coincidence." https://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/coincidence.shtml.

Conan Doyle, A. "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle." The Strand 3, 73-85, Jan. 1892. Reprinted in The Complete Sherlock Holmes. New York: Doubleday, pp. 244-257, 1988.

Falk, R. "On Coincidences." Skeptical Inquirer 6, 18-31, 1981-82.

Falk, R. "The Judgment of Coincidences: Mine Versus Yours." Amer. J. Psych. 102, 477-493, 1989.

Falk, R. and MacGregor, D. "The Surprisingness of Coincidences." In Analysing and Aiding Decision Processes (Ed. P. Humphreys, O. Svenson, and A. Vári). New York: Elsevier, pp. 489-502, 1984.

Diaconis, P. and Mosteller, F. "Methods of Studying Coincidences." J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 84, 853-861, 1989.

Jung, C. G. Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1973.

Kammerer, P. Das Gesetz der Serie: Eine Lehre von den Wiederholungen im Lebens--und im Weltgeschehen. Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche Verlags-Anstahlt, 1919.

Peterson, I. "MathTrek: Birthday Surprises." Nov. 23, 1998. https://www.sciencenews.org/19981123/mathtrek.asp.

Stewart, I. "What a Coincidence!" Sci. Amer. 278, 95-96, June 1998.