8

I'm talking about a situation where I hear a word, phrase, or telling of an actual experience from one source (e.g., a friend's mouth), and almost immediately hear the exact same word or phrase from a different source such as the radio or TV.

For example, while driving and listening to the radio I might drive around a round-about and at the same time the word round-about comes on the radio in a song. But the word round-about is extremely rare in either fashion.

Is there a term for this experience?

ErikE
  • 4,417
David
  • 81
  • 2
    This doesn't exactly match, but there is a term for when you learn about some obscure piece of information for the first time, then very shortly hear about it again. It's called the "Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon". – Kevin Feb 05 '16 at 17:47
  • @Kevin, so cool that there's a name for that! I often wonder when this happens to me if my mind is just playing tricks on me; i.e., I'm only noticing something now because of that recent incident... – Tim Ward Feb 05 '16 at 18:07

6 Answers6

18

synchronicity:

the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.

(Oxford Dictionaries)

herisson
  • 81,803
jimm101
  • 10,753
9

I think the term is coincidence:

  • an ​occasion when two or more ​similar things ​happen at the same ​time, ​especially in a way that is ​unlikely and ​surprising:

    • Is it just a coincidence that the ​wife of the man who ​ran the ​competition ​won first ​prize?

    • It was a coincidence that she was wearing a jersey like Laura’s

(Cambridge Dictionary)

  • 1
    I think I would use "pure coincidence" to emphasise the rarity, though I'm not sure if others do this. – James Webster Feb 05 '16 at 16:06
  • @JamesWebster - Yes, 'pure coincidence' is used, 'just a coincidence' is also a common expression. https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=pure+coincidence%2Cjust+a+coincidence&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cpure%20coincidence%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cjust%20a%20coincidence%3B%2Cc0 –  Feb 05 '16 at 16:11
  • 1
    "Pure coincidence" and "just a coincidence" don't emphasize the rarity, they emphasize the fact that it is nothing more than coincidence; that the occurrences were random and had nothing to do with one another. – JounceCracklePop Feb 05 '16 at 19:24
  • Yes, it's coincidental that I learn about something and then notice that same thing shortly thereafter, but that doesn't describe the feeling that my learning about something is somehow connected to my subsequent noticing that thing. In fact, I might not even have been aware that she and Laura were wearing similar jerseys until someone pointed it out. That coincidence wouldn't impinge on my psychological state. – deadrat Feb 05 '16 at 19:27
  • @CarlLeth -the term "coincidence" has that connotation...see the definition "...especially in a way that is unlikely (rare) and surprising." –  Feb 05 '16 at 19:30
  • @deadrat - would the term roundabout from a radio while you are driving around a roundabout impinge on your psychological state? –  Feb 05 '16 at 19:35
  • @Josh61 I agree that it's beginning to have that connotation because it's almost always used in the "just a coincidence" sense, but it's still true that phrasing it that way emphasizes its absence of causal connection and not its rarity. There are plenty of unlikely and surprising coincidences that are not just coincidence. – JounceCracklePop Feb 05 '16 at 19:56
  • @CarlLeth - I do think that the example made by OP ( roundabout from the radio while driving around one) can be described as just a coincidence. –  Feb 05 '16 at 19:59
  • I'd have to agree that hearing the word roundabout while driving on a roundabout counts as a simple coincidence. But then, that description (even though it's the OP's) doesn't illustrate the OP's definition -- you learn of a word in one context and then notice that it pops up unbidden elsewhere. – deadrat Feb 05 '16 at 20:34
6

If it is pleasant, and gives a good feeling, then I suggest serendipity:

the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way

(Oxford Dictionaries)

herisson
  • 81,803
BiscuitBoy
  • 13,482
6

This may not be the answer you're looking for, but oftentimes it FEELS like a coincidence or serendipity when in fact you are experiencing a form of confirmation bias known as the frequency illusion:

The illusion in which a word, a name, or other thing that has recently come to one's attention suddenly seems to appear with improbable frequency shortly afterwards (not to be confused with the recency illusion or selection bias).[40] Colloquially, this illusion is known as the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.

(Wikipedia)

herisson
  • 81,803
Digital Chris
  • 3,345
3

The term happenstance is my favorite for these moments, chiefly because they make me happy and the beginning of the word starts the same as 'happy'.

I was surprised to find it had been coined so recently:

happenstance (n.) 1855, from happening + ending from circumstance.

(Online Etymology Dictionary at etymonline.com)

herisson
  • 81,803
Tim Ward
  • 1,375
1

The phrase pure coincidence is the best when you describe such a situation. You could also consider using pure accident or (pure) chance. Accident means:

An event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.

Chance means:

The occurrence of events in the absence of any obvious intention or cause

[Oxford Online Dictionary]

Your example:

While driving around a round-about listening to the radio, I heard the term round-about in a song by pure accident/chance.

herisson
  • 81,803