Meaning through patterns - we love order
Pattern-making and coincidence-spotting are two harmless, enjoyable and meaningless parts of life, work or play. Or are they meaningless? While not possessed of meaning themselves, they can give meaning to our practices. Lucky numbers, for example: our family number is 22, and every time I raise my eyes to look at a sporting match on television, the first player I ever notice is the one in jersey 22. Is this some mysterious force at work, or just my brain is primed for the lucky digits? My daughter chose as her wedding date October 10 last year – 10-10-20. Two numbers become one, with a nod to the Spice Girls . (Setting aside a pandemic and a wedding that nearly fitted in a phone box, it was indeed a lucky and meaningful day.) Our brains are wired to spot patterns. Perhaps this is why we attribute some higher or greater meaning when small events in everyday life seem to have rhythm or completeness. There is something about regularity, about patterns, symmetry or recur...