Walking coincidence

As of the 23rd May 2022 this website is archived and will receive no further updates.

understandinguncertainty.org was produced by the Winton programme for the public understanding of risk based in the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge. The aim was to help improve the way that uncertainty and risk are discussed in society, and show how probability and statistics can be both useful and entertaining.

Many of the animations were produced using Flash and will no longer work.

I was having a really rough time. I was just starting college and already second guessing my major of music as I got into the lowest choir, whereas my boyfriend had gotten into the highest. My dad hadn’t helped much with making some comments, and it had all gotten to me. I picked myself up and went on a walk. I was just walking in my neighborhood by myself. I was talking out loud and complaining that I just felt so incredibly lost. I didn’t know if I had made a mistake, and if I was just going to be miserable as a music major. I felt like nothing was working right, because a lot was going wrong in my life. I just felt lost. I muttered something along the lines of, “If I am supposed to be at this college, studying this dumb major, give me a sign or I’m going to assume this is a mistake and I’m just going to quit.” I was talking to God at that point. Challenging him to give me a sign, which I did not expect he would do. I kept walking, and ended up walking a street I do not normally walk. I was passing a house, and this guy just kinda showed up. I hadn’t noticed him standing in his lawn earlier, or him even coming out of his house, it was just like he was there, 4 feet away from me holding his phone out to me. “Excuse me, sorry. There is this dog that wondered its way into my lawn, and it’s making my cats a little on edge, but do you know if there is anyone who has lost a dog?” I was completely startled. I claimed I didn’t know anyone who had lost a dog, and wished him luck. He apologized again for unnerving me, and said something, along the lines of, “Well, she’s found, and I’m going to help. And thank you for your help.” I walked away and waved. As I walked away, I suddenly remembered how there had been people about a week earlier looking fervently for a dog named Sophie. They had been out in the streets calling for this dog for hours. And this dude had found that dog. I turned back to go tell him, but he wasn’t outside of his house, and his cats were not outside either. And I haven’t seen him since that day. To make the story make sense, my name is Sophie. And as soon as my mind put it all together, I freaked out, and texted my best friend who was like that’s definitely a sign. It was something that has never happened to me before, and definitely was a coincidence.
Total votes: 288
Date submitted:Sun, 30 Aug 2020 14:29:31 +0000Coincidence ID:10523