Mark Gagnon

So what is that?

I mean, these two men had no idea that each other existed.

And at 39, they meet.

And then they uncover all of these overlapping similarities in their lives down to the names of the dogs they adopt or the names of their children.

Bizarre.

Now, is this a miracle?

Well, there's no one really claiming divine intervention, but calling it a coincidence feels inadequate, right?

Because it's not just one detail that matches, it is dozens and dozens.

Jung would have probably called this a synchronicity, meaningful parallels that can't just be explained by direct causation, but seem to reveal some type of underlying pattern, some type of force in the universe that somehow connects all of these things that happen.

But here's the thing.

Maybe there is a causal explanation, and it's stronger than a lot of people realize.

Identical twins share 100% of their DNA.

Behavioral genetics research shows that genetics influences personality and preference and maybe even the types of women or even the types of names that might appeal to you.

So the same name coincidence might reflect that people with similar genetic predispositions are actually drawn to

the same sounds that sound appealing to them.

So Linda and Betty are extremely common names for women born in the 1940s, so the base rate is also really high.

The matching habits could be genetic too.

Driving the same type of car might reflect a shared socioeconomic status and regional trend.

Selection effects and reporting biases also matter here.

Researchers and journalists emphasize all these really spooky, crazy matches, and they also downplay the many things that didn't match.