Many people take note of an occurrence, and grant it a high significance. They see the event as unlikely, and need to put it into a larger pattern. Perhaps they lose a hand of Texas Hold 'Em, where they started with pocket aces. This is an unlikely occurrence, and they take note of it. Perhaps it happens twice in 2 weeks. They decide they have bad luck.
What many people fail to realize is the only reason they took special note of the occurrence was because it was unlikely. They did not notice all the times they won with good cards, the negative occurrence of the unlikely event. They perked up and took notice on the positive occurrence of the event.
If you are thinking about someone, and they call you shortly afterward, that would be a positive occurrence of an unlikely event. But you don't notice all the thousands of times you think about them and they don't call, or they call when you are not thinking about them, because that is normal.
People naturally place a greater degree of significance of unlikely events.
Unlikely events happen all the time. Coincidence does occur. Just because you happen to notice or be present during an occurrence of coincidence does not make the event more significant.
Which is not to say there is not sometimes a pattern. There often is. Perhaps you are losing with pocket aces because you have a strong tell, and people always fold to your aces unless they catch on the flop, and know they can beat your aces. It is good to consider the possibility of pattern, it is bad to demand that there be one.
Here is another example, intelligent life on earth. It's unlikely. It was unlikely for life to develop, and unlikely for it develop into the forms it did. That does not necessarily mean there was a larger pattern, such as intelligent design. The universe is easily big enough for life like us to have occurred on at least one planet. We wouldn't be here asking the question unless it did.
As unlikely as life like us is to have come about due to random chance on our particular planet, it is probable to have happened on some planet, given the size of the universe.
There is no need to place undue significance on the positive occurrence of life on earth, just because we are here to see it.
-Brother Rail Gun of The Short Path
This e2 author added his writeup to the public domain. Please consider doing likewise :)