 sj |
||
|
||
BS: A particular sort of coincidence
|
|
|
Subject: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: MGM·Lion Date: 22 Nov 12 - 07:34 AM I OP'd a thread not long ago about a coincidence I had experienced, which ran for quite a bit and seemed to stimulate response. Another sort of coincidence is the one I am sure we have all experienced: where one hears a new word for the first time ever, and comes across it again very soon after. But not as soon in my experience as happened to me this morning. A clue in this week's Spectator crossword, which went online this morning for subscribers only, the mag not hitting the bookstalls till tomorrow, related to genes, and had the solution 'allelic'. I had never before come across the word 'allele', meaning a particular form a gene can take, until about 1000 this morning. But three minutes ago [1125 our time]I read it again in a post from sciencegeek on the "Alternatives to Science??" thread. Anyone else had that particularly specialised form of coincidence occurring quite so promptly? ~Michael~ |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: Henry Krinkle Date: 22 Nov 12 - 07:56 AM A real smart allelic =(:-( )) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: sciencegeek Date: 22 Nov 12 - 08:46 AM LOL... I've had that happen at work on occasion... but not quite so quickly as you experienced... in science, as in life in general, there are "lumpers" and "splitters" when it comes to defining things ... and the term allele is used to further clarify what goes on at the genetic level and help explain why different traits can exist. so... feel ready to tackle the genome project? :D |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: Charmion Date: 22 Nov 12 - 09:44 AM That happens to me all the time. I work in a military headquarters where fresh jargon arrives every day from thousands of sources, many of them foreign (especially American). In days, the word for something quite ordinary can just vanish, to be replaced by another term that people adopt so thoroughly it's as if the word I know never existed at all. That's how goggles became "ballistic eyewear" and the TITAN computer system for classified information became CSNI. For years, the accepted short form for microphone was "mike" until one day it wasn't, and I was supposed to use "mic". When I shake my head over this, some well-meaning colleague is sure to remind me that the language is evolving. With great difficulty, I refrain from assault. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: number 6 Date: 22 Nov 12 - 10:00 AM "A particular sort of coincidence" I like this ... a very unique title ... could be used for a title of a poem ... or a movie. biLL |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: Steve Shaw Date: 22 Nov 12 - 10:06 AM I just switched a light on. Two minutes 38 seconds later, the phone rang. That is amazing. That is the first time I can ever recall the phone ringing exactly two minutes and 38 seconds after switching that light on. Phew! Amazing coincidence! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: Nigel Parsons Date: 22 Nov 12 - 10:13 AM "cccdeeiinno" That's a particular sort of coincidence; it's sorted alphabetically! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: Steve Shaw Date: 22 Nov 12 - 10:22 AM Explain yourself, Henryetta. It's 3.20pm this end and the sun is nowhere near below the yardarm yet, I assure you. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: Bill D Date: 22 Nov 12 - 10:25 AM My father pointed out to me once at dinner that 'every time I bend my elbow, my mouth flies open'. But, yes... things like that do happen ... contiguity in time & space tend to make us notice them more. I have had TV announcers mention something that I was just reading about in the paper. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Lighter Date: 22 Nov 12 - 10:26 AM Not precisely the same thing, but this unsettled me when I was seven years old. One afternoon I was sitting in the car turning over my collection of baseball cards and turned up Dee Fondy, first baseman for the Chicago Cubs. At that *very moment* the radio announced that Dee was coming to bat against the Giants. Whoa!! Then there was a non-coincidence of note. One day I was walking down the street when the name of Dante popped into my head. No reason. And I almost never thought of Dante. A white panel truck then whipped around the corner bearing the single word "DANTE" on the side. In red. There was no way I could have seen it coming. I was impressed. I was less impressed months later, however, when I realized from seeing a similar truck that what had looked like "DANTE" at a vulnerable moment was really "DANITE," the name of a local corporation. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 22 Nov 12 - 11:54 AM I do the drawings for our village magazine cover (I suspect it's only because no-one else can be bothered, because my standard of drawing is risible) I'm doing one for each month of 2013, and I was trying to think of something for March. I thought of March hares 'boxing', but can't draw those. So I meandered into a public library, and found only one book about British Wildlife. I opened it at random, and there was the most beautiful, clear illustration of two hares boxing. I felt a bit creepy; all the wildlife of the UK was in that book, but I had found immediately the 'hares' page. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Stim Date: 22 Nov 12 - 07:14 PM That's the second time I've seen "risible" on Mudcat in two days! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: MGM·Lion Date: 22 Nov 12 - 11:31 PM So laugh ~~ twice! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 23 Nov 12 - 04:17 AM As they say in Norfolk, "Hare we gooo!" |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Grishka Date: 23 Nov 12 - 02:59 PM The word "allele" is by no means new slang, but as old as genetics itself. We may have read or heard it countless times without bothering what it means, and therefore forgot it immediately. When by chance we come across an explanation, we pay more attention next time. Most of us have developed a "blind spot" for words we do not know: we even forget the fact that there was a word we did not know. Readers of English are particularly well-trained in that discipline, since the language has about twice as many words as, say, French. (It helps to learn French and Latin, though "allele" is Greek.) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,pete from seven stars link Date: 23 Nov 12 - 03:15 PM i reckon elizas experience is a true co-incidence-maybe even a God-incidence-but to read the word "alelle"on a science thread - not really so surprising. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Grishka Date: 23 Nov 12 - 03:59 PM I can explain Eliza's experience as well: opening a libraty book "at random" often gives you the page that has been viewed most often. Now, boxing hares are certainly among the more exciting features of English wildlife - voilà. If God had wanted to do Eliza a favour, He might have thought of something more useful than saving her five minutes of leafing. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: mayomick Date: 23 Nov 12 - 04:03 PM It used to happen quite often with me as well when I used to do crosswords -never as fast as that though. I used to suspect that I may have come across certain words before seeing them in the crosswords and skipped looking them up in the dictionary because I had understood them in the context they appeared in . Seeing the word in the crossword brought my ignorance of its precise meaning to my attention. Hopefully I'll come across "alelle" somewhere now within the next week or so. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: bobad Date: 23 Nov 12 - 04:10 PM I just opened this thread, read the last few posts and came across the word "allele" three times....holy crap! what a coincidence. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: Ed T Date: 23 Nov 12 - 04:14 PM By coincidence, a few weeks ago, I also opened a thread on coincidences. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: MGM·Lion Date: 23 Nov 12 - 04:17 PM Grishka ~~ Who has mentioned the concept of 'slang' in relation to allele? No-one on this thread that I can find. Nobody said it wasn't an established word: just that I had never come across it before, but happened across it twice on the same morning within a couple of hours in two different contexts; only one of them on a science thread, pete, so kindly keep your crushing smartarse tone to yourself IYDM. ~M~ |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Lighter Date: 23 Nov 12 - 04:28 PM Funny thing, coincidence. Is it a coincidence if nobody notices it? Mathematics tells us that coincidence in general is an inevitable element of life. Why, then, do we search for metaphysical explanations for some coincidences? And why is that many people say, with a perfectly straight face, "There are no coincidences in politics" or "I don't believe in coincidence"? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: gnu Date: 23 Nov 12 - 04:31 PM I also find that similar coincidences happen when I am doing crosswords more often than one would expect. Of these fairly rare occurences, many are within minutes or hours. A couple of weeks ago, I was doing my daily morning paper crossword puzzles and Early Morning Rain by Gordon Lightfoot came on the radio as I read the clue "Early Morning Rain singer", answer: Lightfoot. The very next clue was "Big dick", answer "Steve". Now, THAT might not be a coincidence. Unless Steve has a sense of humour. If not, it truly is. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 24 Nov 12 - 09:11 AM Grishka, you're right. I'd much rather He'd helped me buy a winning Lottery ticket! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Grishka Date: 24 Nov 12 - 09:14 AM Michael (23 Nov 12 - 04:17 PM), my remark (23 Nov 12 - 02:59 PM) about "new slang" was meant to contrast your OP against Charmion's message of 22 Nov 12 - 09:44 AM. I wonder where you heard me "crushing" anybody or anything. Certainly I would not claim to know all words myself, not even all important ones - and I definitely think there are more worthwile goals. (Because of my personal biography, I have no real mother tongue; I speak and read several languages, but none anywhere close to perfectly.) This game is about "explaining" coincidences in a playful manner, is it not? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Grishka Date: 24 Nov 12 - 09:31 AM PS: Michael, I now realize that your verdict of "crushing" seems to be directed against "pete from seven stars link", 23 Nov 12 - 03:15 PM. I agree that it did not contribute anything substantial or entertaining, except for providing the clueword "God-incidence". Lottery winners may not be among those who feel most favoured by God either. (I don't know myself; I never played.) Happiness escapes all probability theory. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 24 Nov 12 - 01:38 PM My husband often says that many happy people are in fact poor financially, and there are many miserable rich folk. I feel he's right. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: MGM·Lion Date: 24 Nov 12 - 02:30 PM Ah, I had an uncle who used to say that, of course money didn't bring happiness. Why, he knew a man with 10 million pounds, and he wasn't any happier than another one he knew who only had 8 million. Tho, as they say ~~ money doesn't bring happiness; but at least it enables you to be miserable in comfort. ~M~ |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: gnu Date: 24 Nov 12 - 05:27 PM I'd vote for comfort, MGM! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Grishka Date: 25 Nov 12 - 11:28 AM Just to make that clear: my point was not primarily about money. I generally observed that being extraordinarily lucky in some particular aspect (such as money, beauty, health, etc.) often fails to create the expected feeling of happiness. It is not rare that such lucky people ruin their gift in order to obtain other ones, and end up with none. "Enough of all" is a better wish, and fullfilled so often that we cannot speak of a particularly lucky coincidence. Still, those who want to complain will find reasons. And regardless of our personal circumstances, the state of the world demands our concern. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: Joe_F Date: 25 Nov 12 - 06:24 PM Charmion: "Mic", AFAIK, is pronounced "Mike". The odd spelling is due to the fact that, since time immemorial, the microphone jack on an amplifier has been labeled MIC. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: MGM·Lion Date: 25 Nov 12 - 11:25 PM This thread has drifted in all sorts of interesting directions, as threads will. Could I ask, please, yet again ~~ any more examples of the particular sort of 'new word soon met again' coincidence which I requested in OP? ~M~ |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: Mo the caller Date: 26 Nov 12 - 09:35 AM Not words but quiz questions seem to crop up in bunches. We record TV quizzes and watch at dinner time. Often a questionwe heard on Eggheads pops up on University Challenge or Mastermind and makes us wonder if we've already watched it. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: Ed T Date: 26 Nov 12 - 01:45 PM ""Phoebe: I just realized something. Joker is poker with a j... coincidence? Chandler: Hey, that's "joincidence"... with a c."" Chandler Bing (Character) from "Friends" (1994) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Lighter Date: 26 Nov 12 - 02:06 PM I haven't had occasion to write the word "discombobulate" in decades, and I almost never encounter it. This morning I did have occasion to write it. A few minutes ago I opened a previously unread book at random and saw the word on the page. Now tell me what it means, along with the added coincidence that this thread is currently running and I've already posted to it. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: A particular sort of coincidence From: GUEST,Grishka Date: 27 Nov 12 - 09:03 AM Lighter, that is a clear incidence of discombobulation, defying and thus falsifying the First Law of Combobulation. |
