According to Mr. Mazur, things that happen happen because there was a probability of it happening, and when it happened, you just happened to notice it. It is true there may not have been much of a chance of what just happened to have happened, but what we all fail to consider are all the times it didn't happen.
Think of seeing someone you haven't seen for decades suddenly appearing in the same hotel lobby you now find yourself in on a business trip. You both recognize each other, so they are having the same "fluke" experience as you of "what are the chances of this happening?" You're both amazed. One in a million, right?
Well, one in something for sure. What neither person is considering is all the times you've been in a hotel lobby, or some other public place, and didn't run into anyone you haven't seen for decades. You've made no count of those non-encounters. You've miscalculated the universe, so when you do run into someone you haven't seen for decades it might really be because of all the non-encounters you were due to run into someone you knew from the past. And it could have been anyone from the past. You've certainly known a good number of people, or seen a good number of people in the past who you might now remember if they suddenly appeared in front of you. That face does look familiar.
I think I've caught the essence of the author's text. I especially enjoyed learning how it is calculated that of 23 people at a gathering, there is a 50% chance that two of the people will share the same month and day of birth (not necessarily the same year). And if there are 30 people at this gathering, there is near certainty (1.0) that two people will share the same month and day of birth. It is astounding, and it is calculable.
So, if you're still with me, I want you to consider the odds of a wooden representation of Karl Marx being displayed in Trier, Germany in advance of his 200th birthday that is a prototype of a more permanent gift China wants to make to Germany when the event formally rolls around next year, being photographed by a news photographer at the exact instant a man strolls by in the lower left of his camera's lens who bears a decided striking likeness to Karl Marx. Himself.
You can take your time and get back to me. The Internet is standing by.
http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com
The Marz lookalike could be a plant. Some years ago I drove from Phila. to NY to visit a friend. He took me to Aqueduct with the crowd. His father was a NYPD Lt. covering 5th ave./St/ Pats area. While at Aqueduct I recognized a Phila neighbor in a crowd of 40M. When I remarked later to the old cop he asked if my neighbor was a banker. I said yes how did you know? He said bankers never went to the track in their home town. The policeman's mind functioning. If I met you in the lobby would I recognize you? tjs
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