Psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung brought us the term “synchronicity,” which literally means “falling together in time.” Synchronicity describes the surprise that occurs when a thought in the mind is mirrored by an external event to which it has no apparent causal connection.
It is a type of meaningful coincidence, and Jung’s musings on it are an important historical step on the way to developing a science of coincidences.
As I develop Coincidence Studies, I look to the usefulness of coincidences. I analyze the role people play in creating their own coincidences. While shaping this previously abstract, philosophical topic into a more solid science, its magic is not lost on me. In fact, it is that transcendental feeling created by coincidences that started my quest. I suppose this is the case to a certain degree in all scientific exploration.
