Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Synchronocity

Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events which are casually unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner. In order to be synchronous, the events should be unlikely to occur together by random chance.


The concept does not question, or compete with, the notion of causality. Instead, it maintains that just as events may be grouped by cause, they may also be grouped by their meaning. Since meaning is a complex mental construction, subject to conscious and subconscious influence, not every correlation in the grouping of events by meaning needs to have an explanation in terms of cause and effect. (wikipedia)


Swiss master psychologist Carl Jung coined this now household friendly (well, at least in educated ones) word. To my humble mind, synchronicity is just "meaningful coincidence." Meaning, just two (2) or more things happening on or about the same time where in one's perception, all the events have a somewhat logical (or sometimes even fantastical) relationship.


MANGA TRIVIA: In 2002, manga author Itagaki Keisuke based one of the story arcs of "Baki The Search Of Our Strongest Hero" on the synchronicity theme, presenting a story in which five death row inmates escaped at the same time, in different countries, each after surviving his own execution. Each inmate went back to Japan at the same time to meet in the same place for the same objective. That is, of course, to find out "who is the strongest hero." To those who have read Baki, or watched the anime, you all know who's the strongest.