TextWhen it comes to bad things happening in threes,7what may be most important of all is the duration andmemorability of the first event. Take a burst pipe whileyou are away on holiday, for example. It may take lessthan an hour to flood the house, but this one bad eventcan remain alive and kicking for many months, with thecleaning up operation and the debate with your insurersacting as constant reminders of the original event.Translation
7 When it comes to bad things happening in threes, what may be most important of all is the duration and memorability of the first event. Take a burst pipe while you are away on holiday, for example. It may take less than an hour to flood the house, but this one bad event can remain alive and kicking for many months, with the cleaning up operation and the debate with your insurers acting as constant reminders of the original event. Text
TextSofThe longer the first bad event sticks in the front8your mind, the more opportunities you will havetoexperience two more bad events. A monthlatersomeone bumps the back of your car and a week afterthat you lose your wedding ring. The mind which isalready on a low from the first event will quickly leapto connect the subseguent misfortunes as part of theseries.More..Translation
8 The longer the first bad event sticks in the front of your mind, the more opportunities you will have to experience two more bad events. A month later someone bumps the back of your car and a week after that you lose your wedding ring. The mind which is already on a low from the first event will quickly leap to connect the subsequent misfortunes as part of the series. Text
TextIt wouldn't matter that there could be a two-month timescale over which everything happened. Bythe time you have recovered from the water damageyou are actively looking out for the next disaster. Thetimescale has been extended as long as is necessary toconfirm the original prophecyTranslation
It wouldn't matter that there could be a twomonth timescale over which everything happened. By the time you have recovered from the water damage you are actively looking out for the next disaster. The timescale has been extended as long as is necessary to confirm the original prophecy. Text
日TextAs with coincidences, in bad luck there is a9tendency to look for the examples which confirm thetheory, and ignore those which don't (because they areless interesting). Single bad events happen all the time.That alone should be enough to disprove the theory.Bad things also come in twos. But it is more likely thata friend will tell you “"three bad things have happenedto me, isn't that typical" than "only two bad things havehappened to me, which just proves that the theorydoesn't work", After all, the latter is tempting fate!Translation
9 As with coincidences, in bad luck there is a tendency to look for the examples which confirm the theory, and ignore those which don’t (because they are less interesting). Single bad events happen all the time. That alone should be enough to disprove the theory. Bad things also come in twos. But it is more likely that a friend will tell you “three bad things have happened to me, isn’t that typical” than “only two bad things have happened to me, which just proves that the theory doesn’t work”. After all, the latter is tempting fate! Text
TextSThere is, however, at least one rational reason why10bad events might cluster together. It is related toprobability and independence. Unlucky events are notalways independent of each other. Anybody who ismade redundant is bound to suffer some depression.That will lower the body's defences, making the personvulnerable to illness, and also making them less alertand responsive (so they may be more likely to drop aprecious vase, for example).More..Translation
10 There is, however, at least one rational reason why bad events might cluster together. It is related to probability and independence. Unlucky events are not always independent of each other. Anybody who is made redundant is bound to suffer some depression. That will lower the body’s defences, making the person vulnerable to illness, and also making them less alert and responsive (so they may be more likely to drop a precious vase, for example). Text