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The science behind coincidence?

I'm reading a book by Richard Dawkins - unweaving the rainbow and have just read the chapter on coincidence. Richard argues that all coincidences are really in our imagination or the result of a desire to want to believe in a force outside our control that brings things together.

This reminded me of the fact that 'like attracts like' and that this is a scientific argument - molecules of water when close together will draw together to create a drop of water - basically that seems to me to be the reason why everything 'hangs together' rather than blending together. (Of course things do 'blend together' - putting two chemicals together often creates a new substance although some things just do not go together, they cannot 'blend').

Coincidence can be scientifically proven - the book talks about the fact that in Britain, there are likely to be 38,000 people (out of the 55million odd) with the same three initials, so finding a watch with your initials on it, whilst surprising, is not that far from reach.

So the scientific 'like attracts like' thing, and coincidence both have a scientific basis - that doesn't detract in my mind from the fact that there is a force of nature, or energy, that does have infuence over our every day lives...both arguments (scientific reasoning and coincidence) can co-exist.

We grow every day and make choices about who we are with, where we go and what we do, and it is those choices that bring us the luck, good fortune, coincidence and the colour that fills our lives. Coincidence is fun, we find it exciting. So what if it has a scientific explanation.

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