Incredible things happen routinely. People win the lottery — twice. Golfers hit holes-in-one several days in a row. Basketball players appear to get a “hot hand” (SN: 2/12/11, p. 26; SN Online: 10/29/13).
Do these chance events validate superstition or suggest a hidden influence in our world — a higher power, perhaps? Absolutely not, argues Imperial College London statistician David J. Hand. The laws of mathematics and physics suffice to explain a world of coincidences.