I’m sure a lot of us ponder about the mystery of coincidences pretty frequently. What were the odds of this or that happening; and yet they did. Take the couple who missed boarding the ill-fated Air France flight out of Rio a few days ago becuase they were late to arrive at the airport. The plane crashed into the Atlantic four hours after departure. The news media hailed it as a stroke of good luck or karma for the couple – and yet, ten days later, the two were in a head-on collision with a truck while touring Austria, the wife died, the husband was critically injured.

People miss planes frequently and car accidents are a dime a dozen. Plausible explanation for accidents such as these. Yet, the common response to this couple’s tragic story, is that the woman somehow cheated death the first time, but was meant to die the second time. (Remember the movie ‘Final Destination?’) Cruel as it may sound – it was her destiny, fate. But why would her life be saved the first time, and not be spared the second time? How does one explain the ten extra days she was granted as a bonus on this earth – did she have a purpose or mission to accomplish during that time? A better understanding of probability might explain why these train of events are more likely to be remarkable coincidences, rather than mystic or supernatural phenomena . Not entirely by chance, I came across this video: