I'm originally from NB, Canada but now live in a rural tiny town in northern BC. My mom was flying here last year and in the Moncton airport, sat beside a lady there while waiting to board who had a brother that lives not only in the same tiny town, but also on the same street as me (that has about 20 houses). Out of thousands of people at the airport, she randomly picked a conversation with her. So yeah, the world can be a small place.
I happen to be from a relatively minor country (Namibia). I once moderated a presentation by a pretty famous architect of Spanish origin in Germany. After the presentation, we had dinner with said architect, in which we obviously talked about life. During our conversation, my national origin came up, and the architect mentioned his sister who was working in my home country. I quickly connected the dots based on his surname, and asked him if he knew a girl I had gone to school with, one of my highschool crushes. He quickly exclaimed that she was, in fact, his niece. We sent her a selfie and she freaked out too. Good times.
No, the world is not small, it is big. Since there are so many people living on it, it's is nearly certain that "improbable" stuff like this happens countless times. we people just don't understand probability, that why it feels strange. on a personal level, this might be very remarkable. on a statidtical level, it's actually trivial and unremarkable.
That's for the probability input! But statistically, what do you think the odds are that an exchange student from Sweden ends up at my school, that I move to Denmark, and then she ends up working there too... it's still small probability.
@laurencepaq it surely does feel that way for you. but that an exchange student from a western country will become collegue with an ex-classmate in a third western country is very likely to happen hundreds of times in a globalised world with a population of billions of people.
let me use this different case as a metaphor: it does seem very improbable to have birthday on 29th of february. that probability would be 1 out of (4*365+1), i.e. one ozt of 1500 people will have birthday on 29th of february. in a school with 3000 pupils, it is very likely that two of them will have birthday on 29th of february. it would probably still be unlikely for both of those students being in the same class. but what about other schools? how many schools are there in the world? somewhere, five people born on 29th of february will be sitting in the same classroom.
@ I get it. But then in the case we have we would have to take the probability that this very exchange student came to my school (so all exchange students coming to Quebec that year and all spots) then the probability we are in the same class, the probability I move to Denmark, the probability she gets a job in Denmark while living in Sweden and multiply all of that together. It’s still a probability… it always is. Just not the biggest one. Lots of things need to fall into place for this to happen. But I love that you bring probabilities and realism to the conversation. Would be great to find a way to calculate the actual probability of this happening but I’m not sure we have the data.
it is highly improbable that i live exactly in my appartment and that i have the given name i have. there are so many different given names and so many different appartments in so many different cities in so many different countries and so on. but it is not highly improbable that someone lives where i live and that someone has my common name. it is, in fact, very likely, and nobody would suggest, that someone with my name having my address is incredibly unlikely. nobody would stutter in disbelief if i told them my address. and that is the point i am making. it seems unlikely, even though it is very likely if you treat contingency as contingent. i think that your story does not rely on you coming from quebec or that student coming from denmark. it would seem as unlikely with you coming from british columbia, the student being ftom germany and both of you working in paris. you have to also include socio(eco)logical factors like the one that people that live abroad as students or are in a school in which guest students from abroad are staying are more likely to live abroad as adults.
Yeah… sorry. My accent is all over the place. French is my mother tongue, learned English at summer camp in the US and +15 years living in Denmark so it’s a little all over
You don't believe my story? Although I enjoy creating content, I don't create fake content for the sake of it. it's all true! Elin, the exchange student and I now have lunch together at work at least once per month! And I also contacted her host family as she was hosted at my friend's stephanie's house... we all think it's incredible!
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
“Not Sweden” is the best description for Denmark
HAHAHA! I know! many people think Denmark is the capital of Denmark!
Small world!
Very!!!!
I'm originally from NB, Canada but now live in a rural tiny town in northern BC. My mom was flying here last year and in the Moncton airport, sat beside a lady there while waiting to board who had a brother that lives not only in the same tiny town, but also on the same street as me (that has about 20 houses). Out of thousands of people at the airport, she randomly picked a conversation with her. So yeah, the world can be a small place.
Awesome! love it!
Cool!!😊
I happen to be from a relatively minor country (Namibia). I once moderated a presentation by a pretty famous architect of Spanish origin in Germany. After the presentation, we had dinner with said architect, in which we obviously talked about life. During our conversation, my national origin came up, and the architect mentioned his sister who was working in my home country. I quickly connected the dots based on his surname, and asked him if he knew a girl I had gone to school with, one of my highschool crushes. He quickly exclaimed that she was, in fact, his niece. We sent her a selfie and she freaked out too. Good times.
That's an amazing story! the world is so so so small! insane!
8 billion people they say 😅
No, the world is not small, it is big. Since there are so many people living on it, it's is nearly certain that "improbable" stuff like this happens countless times. we people just don't understand probability, that why it feels strange. on a personal level, this might be very remarkable. on a statidtical level, it's actually trivial and unremarkable.
That's for the probability input! But statistically, what do you think the odds are that an exchange student from Sweden ends up at my school, that I move to Denmark, and then she ends up working there too... it's still small probability.
@laurencepaq it surely does feel that way for you. but that an exchange student from a western country will become collegue with an ex-classmate in a third western country is very likely to happen hundreds of times in a globalised world with a population of billions of people.
let me use this different case as a metaphor: it does seem very improbable to have birthday on 29th of february. that probability would be 1 out of (4*365+1), i.e. one ozt of 1500 people will have birthday on 29th of february. in a school with 3000 pupils, it is very likely that two of them will have birthday on 29th of february. it would probably still be unlikely for both of those students being in the same class. but what about other schools? how many schools are there in the world? somewhere, five people born on 29th of february will be sitting in the same classroom.
@ I get it. But then in the case we have we would have to take the probability that this very exchange student came to my school (so all exchange students coming to Quebec that year and all spots) then the probability we are in the same class, the probability I move to Denmark, the probability she gets a job in Denmark while living in Sweden and multiply all of that together. It’s still a probability… it always is. Just not the biggest one. Lots of things need to fall into place for this to happen.
But I love that you bring probabilities and realism to the conversation. Would be great to find a way to calculate the actual probability of this happening but I’m not sure we have the data.
it is highly improbable that i live exactly in my appartment and that i have the given name i have. there are so many different given names and so many different appartments in so many different cities in so many different countries and so on. but it is not highly improbable that someone lives where i live and that someone has my common name. it is, in fact, very likely, and nobody would suggest, that someone with my name having my address is incredibly unlikely. nobody would stutter in disbelief if i told them my address. and that is the point i am making. it seems unlikely, even though it is very likely if you treat contingency as contingent. i think that your story does not rely on you coming from quebec or that student coming from denmark. it would seem as unlikely with you coming from british columbia, the student being ftom germany and both of you working in paris. you have to also include socio(eco)logical factors like the one that people that live abroad as students or are in a school in which guest students from abroad are staying are more likely to live abroad as adults.
Do you happen to know what exchange organization she went with?😊
Good question! No idea, but I can ask her at our next lunch meeting in January!
needle in a haystack but its 8 billion tons of hay and the needle was hidden once in the time spean of 30 years
Love this perspective!
Cewl
Det faktisk sindssyg
I know right?!
the accent switching is fooling me bro
Yeah… sorry. My accent is all over the place. French is my mother tongue, learned English at summer camp in the US and +15 years living in Denmark so it’s a little all over
It never happened or one of them is really something.
You don't believe my story? Although I enjoy creating content, I don't create fake content for the sake of it. it's all true! Elin, the exchange student and I now have lunch together at work at least once per month! And I also contacted her host family as she was hosted at my friend's stephanie's house... we all think it's incredible!