''The Roots of Coincidence'' is a 1972 book by

Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler (, ; ; ; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest, and was educated in Austria, apart from his early school years. In 1931, Koestler j ...

. It is an introduction to theories of

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, teleportation, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry (paranormal), psychometry) and other paranormal cla ...

, including

extrasensory perception Extrasensory perception (ESP), also known as a sixth sense, or cryptaesthesia, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was ad ...

and

psychokinesis Telekinesis () (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been cri ...

. Koestler postulates links between modern physics, their interaction with

time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

and

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

phenomena. It is influenced by Carl Jung's concept of

synchronicity Synchronicity () is a concept introduced by Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology, to describe events that coincide in time and appear meaningfully related, yet lack a discoverable causal connection. Jung held that this was a healthy fu ...

and the seriality of Paul Kammerer. Marks, David. (2000). '' The Psychology of the Psychic'' (2nd Edition). Prometheus Books. pp. 227- 246. In the book Koestler argues that science needs to take the possibility of the occurrence of phenomena that are outside our common sense view of the world more seriously and study them. He concludes that paranormal events are rare, unpredictable and capricious and need a paradoxical combination of skillful scientific experiment with a childlike excitement to be seen and recorded. The psychologist

David Marks David Lee Marks (born August 22, 1948) is an American guitarist who was an early member of the Beach Boys. While growing up in Hawthorne, California, Marks was a neighborhood friend of the original band members and was a frequent participant at t ...

initially was critical of Koestler's book for endorsing

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

. Marks noted that Koestler uncritically accepted ESP experiments and ignored evidence that did not fit his hypothesis. In '' The Psychology of the Psychic'' Marks coined the term "Koestler's Fallacy" as the assumption that odd matches of random events cannot arise by chance. Marks illustrates the fact that such odd matches do regularly occur with examples from his own experience. In "Psychology and the Paranormal: Exploring Anomalous Experience" Marks (2020) modifies his position by suggesting that a few coincidences are so extremely improbable that they warrant more serious scientific attention. Subjective anomalous experiences defy scientific explanation precisely because they are so improbable (e.g. a coincidence with an estimated probability of ten to the minus 18) and they never can be consciously controlled. Traditional statistical hypothesis testing using the .05 level obviously cannot be applied suggesting a double standard. John Beloff gave the book a mixed review, describing it as "a typical Koestlerian performance" but noting that some of his claims about psychical research were inaccurate.

Appearances in popular culture

In Volume 7 of

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

and David Lloyd's ''

V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (comics), David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing Serial (li ...

'', Inspector Finch is seen reading ''The Roots of Coincidence''. Koestler is referenced several times in the work, and in the movie novelization by Steve Moore. Koestler's ideas had previously made their way into the Dr. Manhattan issues of Moore's and

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story " For the M ...

' ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

''. It also played a significant role in Episode 4 (" Entangled") of Series X of ''

Red Dwarf A red dwarf is the smallest kind of star on the main sequence. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of fusing star in the Milky Way, at least in the neighborhood of the Sun. However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs are ...

'', to explain the cause of apparent coincidences. The cover of the Picador paperback edition, with dominoes in the foreground representing star coordinates, is integral to furthering the plot of this episode. The musician Sting was an avid reader of Koestler. Sting named The Police's final studio album ''

Synchronicity Synchronicity () is a concept introduced by Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology, to describe events that coincide in time and appear meaningfully related, yet lack a discoverable causal connection. Jung held that this was a healthy fu ...

'' as a reference to ''The Roots of Coincidence''. He had named The Police's previous album, ''

Ghost in the Machine The "ghost in the machine" is a term originally used to describe and critique the concept of the mind existing alongside and separate from the body. In more recent times, the term has several uses, including the concept that the intellectual part ...

'', after another of Koestler's books. "The Roots of Coincidence" is also the name of an instrumental by fusion jazz ensemble

Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977 by guitarist and composer Pat Metheny, along with his core collaborating member, keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays. Other long-standing members included bassist and producer Steve ...

, featured on their 1997 album '' Imaginary Day''. The track won the 1999

Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance was an honor presented to recording artists for quality instrumental rock performances at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958, and ended after the 2011 award, and or ...

(see there for references).

Publication data

*''The Roots of Coincidence'' (1972), US, Random House hardcover: *''The Roots of Coincidence'' (1972), UK, Hutchinson hardcover: *1973 Vintage paperback:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roots of Coincidence 1972 non-fiction books Books about the paranormal Books by Arthur Koestler English-language non-fiction books Hutchinson (publisher) books Synchronicity Coincidence

Appearances in popular culture

Publication data

See also

References