Did you know that the origin of the word "Random" comes from the Middle English word for "Impetuous Headlong Rush"?
So if the adjective random is supposed to be associated with a headrush.. What does that mean? Does it mean that everything that happens to us, is like experiencing the feeling of a rush, or exhiliration? The Oxford Dictionary current definition of the word is "made, done, happening, or chosen without method or conscious decision". I had a conversation today with a fellow student of mine about how random actions/situations/thoughts can influence serious change in our lives. Was he right? Could the decisions I make today really influence the outcomes of tomorrow, or is it the random events that occur in my day that truly influence the outcomes of my life, and in general. I decided to do a bit more investigation into this idea. I thought of some examples about how something random, can affect people's lives.
Scenario 1: You're walking down the street and you trip over an object that wasn't meant to be there, like a piece of lead pipe that just happened to fall from the scaffolding above just as you were checking out the person walking past you. You trip over this piece of pipe and a stranger helps you up. That stranger introduces themselves and there's an instant connection, you then remain friends/lovers/etc for the rest of your life. Question: are any of these actions truly random? The lead pipe fell because of a careless worker, you tripped because you are a day dreamer, the person walking towards you had a horoscope that day that said "you will meet the person of your dreams".
Ok. A little sappy, but isn't that how randomness is portrayed in movies?
Scenario 2: It's late at night, you're a bus driver working your usual route. You stop at a normal stop, all of a sudden 3 people jump onto your bus running for cover from a gun fight. You drive this route, stop at that stop every day. But tonight, you get shot in the face by a stray bullet meant for someone else. Was this random, was this a coincidence? Some might say, you agreed to work on a dangerous route. The gun fight was a product of a failure by our education, judicial and policing systems (By the way, this actually happened on the weekend here in the city).
After that. I decided to do a little bit more investigation into this word that has me so puzzled. I decided to Google the word "random", because what better a source for some answers then the most random collection of random things, but an internet search engine, where the lines between fiction, reality, truth and lies sometimes get completely blurred. (Ok, my friends are right sometimes I can come across as dramatic). Back on track. The Google search came up with 279,000,000 hits for the word random. The selections that came up were equally eclectic. From random number generations, to Random acts of Reality, to Random House publishing, and I could go on. I decide I'm going to look at 2 random sites, on 2 random pages. Decided by the first 2 numbers that popped into my head (random? Or was it meant to be?). In looking at theses sites, the one a blog that depicts random events occurring to a EMT describing his work, again depicting that these random events in some way were tied together.
That was the conclusion I came to.. That all these "random" events are tied together by personal connections, linked by personal feelings, spread by people's storytelling. Meaning that nothing can truly happen without cause because there will always be a consequence for a "random" thing. And so, "random" is redundant because of its human connections.
So back to what my friend said today about random events changing lives.. Maybe they do change lives, but for a reason. And who are we to criticize that occurrence, because no matter what the conclusion, at least we learn something from it. What more can the cognitive mind ask for?
Scenario 1: You're walking down the street and you trip over an object that wasn't meant to be there, like a piece of lead pipe that just happened to fall from the scaffolding above just as you were checking out the person walking past you. You trip over this piece of pipe and a stranger helps you up. That stranger introduces themselves and there's an instant connection, you then remain friends/lovers/etc for the rest of your life. Question: are any of these actions truly random? The lead pipe fell because of a careless worker, you tripped because you are a day dreamer, the person walking towards you had a horoscope that day that said "you will meet the person of your dreams".
Ok. A little sappy, but isn't that how randomness is portrayed in movies?
Scenario 2: It's late at night, you're a bus driver working your usual route. You stop at a normal stop, all of a sudden 3 people jump onto your bus running for cover from a gun fight. You drive this route, stop at that stop every day. But tonight, you get shot in the face by a stray bullet meant for someone else. Was this random, was this a coincidence? Some might say, you agreed to work on a dangerous route. The gun fight was a product of a failure by our education, judicial and policing systems (By the way, this actually happened on the weekend here in the city).
After that. I decided to do a little bit more investigation into this word that has me so puzzled. I decided to Google the word "random", because what better a source for some answers then the most random collection of random things, but an internet search engine, where the lines between fiction, reality, truth and lies sometimes get completely blurred. (Ok, my friends are right sometimes I can come across as dramatic). Back on track. The Google search came up with 279,000,000 hits for the word random. The selections that came up were equally eclectic. From random number generations, to Random acts of Reality, to Random House publishing, and I could go on. I decide I'm going to look at 2 random sites, on 2 random pages. Decided by the first 2 numbers that popped into my head (random? Or was it meant to be?). In looking at theses sites, the one a blog that depicts random events occurring to a EMT describing his work, again depicting that these random events in some way were tied together.
That was the conclusion I came to.. That all these "random" events are tied together by personal connections, linked by personal feelings, spread by people's storytelling. Meaning that nothing can truly happen without cause because there will always be a consequence for a "random" thing. And so, "random" is redundant because of its human connections.
So back to what my friend said today about random events changing lives.. Maybe they do change lives, but for a reason. And who are we to criticize that occurrence, because no matter what the conclusion, at least we learn something from it. What more can the cognitive mind ask for?
posted by Melanie G at
9:50 p.m.
1 Comments:
Nice post Mellie. But I must say, sometimes you think too much, I have the same disease, lol.
By
Travis Reitsma, at 2:53 a.m.
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