The invisible hand, that isn't

Just like in The Wizard of Oz, sometimes it seems that events, coincides and serendipitous good fortune happen as part of a grand plan. Later we think that it’s the the result of a great and powerful force pulling the ropes and levers. Only much later do we discover that events happen on their own, and it’s only in a dream, driven by our penchant to find order and connection, that the events are tied together.

For many of us this happens all the time. Thinking about an old friend who suddenly shows up or gets in touch, or a near miss of an accident that feels like an invisible hand saved us, or finding something from the distant past at precisely the moment we need it.

All of these are examples of the The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day. And now, thanks to David J. Hand, we have a new and much clearer understanding of why it works.

My conversation with David Hand: