Does everything happen for a reason?

[Quixote1818]

[Quixote1818]

1. Probability

If you drive without a seat belt and go 100 mph you have a good probability of being in a crash and getting hurt badly or dying. If you pay attention to probability, make good choices you have a better chance at living a long happy life and not screwing up the world too much along the way.

Then again, it's possible there is spirituality behind probability, however the laws of nature have not changed.

[frogcycle]

2. other

what happens is based on nothing

probability is a way of predicting the likelihood of something occurring.

but its actual occurrence is not for a reason, not because it is probable. it just happens.

[greyl]

3. Not in the mystical sense, no, I don't think so.

Telling oneself "everything happens for a reason" can be a handy occasional tool for some to deal with emotionally painful events, but it's not supported by logic in reality.
Better to look at the world as it really is and know that the only meaning life has is that which we give to it. (Joseph Campbell paraphrase)

[Forkboy]

4. To quote Bad Religion,

"We're on the tip of a continuum flowing wavelike through disorder".

[Atman]

5. I clicked on this thread for a reason.

I wish I could remember what it was...

.

[lumberjack_jeff]

6. No, sometimes random, unpredictable pointless stuff happens.

See? Like this.

[frebrd]

7. Other...

Things happen because the right circumstances exist to make them happen.

Things may sometimes seen random because we aren't capable of detecting all the circumstances at work.