Randomness and Meaning

(Daily Mail photo)

Apophenia: "the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns within random data."

On the 14th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history, we are apt to ascribe meaning to this random event.

A powerful storm toppled a construction crane Friday afternoon at the Masjid al-Haram, or Grand Mosque, in Mecca -- killing at least 107 people and injuring 238 others.

Why don't we think the mosque tragedy was divine retribution (besides the fact that our theology doesn't subscribe to this concept of the deity)? [bold added]

Khaled Al-Maeena, editor at large at the Saudi Gazette in Jeddah: "Had it happened an hour later it would have been much worse," he said. "Had it happened five hours earlier or four hours earlier, I think the death toll would have been more than a thousand....."The irony is that all this expansion was being done to see to the welfare of the pilgrims," he said.

On the other hand, while the presence of these men on the train may have been random, their actions were not.

Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler,
and Spencer Stone (ABC News)

Sacramento honored the heroes of the 9/11 attacks as well as the local men who stopped a terror attack on a train in Europe.

Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone and Alex Skarlatos all sprang into action aboard an Amsterdam to Paris train last month.

Friday's parade began at noon and ended with a rally outside the state capitol.