coincidental, but not related (August 2023)

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Well, we weren’t quite good to go.  On our way home, our radio/navigation system came on, as it usually does, but then after a minute or so, it blanked out.  Then it came on again, and then blanked out. This process was chronically repetitive. When we returned to the shop and met with the service manager, we told him our radio/NAV system was no longer working. Perhaps logically, since these systems were working when we brought the car in for service, we were thinking something must have happened during the service.  However, without asking any questions the service manager calmly reported that since they worked on the fuel system, this radio/NAV malfunction was probably just coincidental, and not related. 

Initially the service manager reported that the first open slot for this type of problem diagnosis was weeks out (mid-September). However, if we could leave the car overnight, they would probably be able to hook it up and run diagnostics in the next 24 hours. The manager kindly offered that the diagnostic charge would be waived because the radio/NAV system was working when we brought the car in to them for service.

The next day the service manager called with the bad news.  He reported the shop:

1. had tried everything, 
2. the radio failure could not be related to the fuel system work, and 
3. a new radio/navigation system would be $4K-$8K because our car was recently out of warranty for this device, while still under warranty for other parts and labor. 

Our son shared the opinion, that this was no coincidence, but payback.  He said we were probably snotty when we asked to have our fuel system checked out. I don’t think we were snotty, but admittedly we didn’t have the smooth legally compassionate tone of the CSA that propagated this series of events. 

We told the service manager we’d think about the repair and took the blinking car home.  There and with on-line research we found out that other owners of our car’s make and year had coincidentally had similar Radio/NAV system failure (constant rebooting).  One post told of taking their car in because of a fuel system CSA and ending up with a malfunctioning radio/NAV system.  What are the odds? Apparently, the electrical system (battery) is disconnected when many repairs are done.  An example would be when the fuel system is being worked on, and an untimely spark could again result in an auto fireball. It was the disconnection and reconnection of the electrical system that in some, many not so rare instances, caused a radio/NAV system malfunction similar to ours. Fortunately, these colleagues of coincidence published on the internet a reset procedure, that easily fixed the ‘forever reboot’ of the system. It is puzzling to not understand how this reset worked or why the service manager was unaware of this protocol. We were thankful we weren’t out a lot of money to listen to our car radio. 

This type of car adventure may cause one to think about what really is coincidence anyway? Might we count or discount coincidence to frivolously? It use to be that scientist, physicians, statisticians and engineers were some of the credible arbiters, or the appointed seers, of coincidental occurrences. They would ask questions, test theories, review data statistically and scrupulously avoid legal or political (often one and the same) influences in such assessments. A judgement of coincidental, but not related, was not an uncommon determination. Yet there are occasions when the same time and/or space occurrence is related. Proof of relationship or correlation is hard work and it may raise other questions, some of which may be uncomfortable to address.  

That long established credibility to analyze coincidental events has more recently been called into question, and not just in car repairs. For but one example, without asking or answering many questions, the world was told that the origin of the C19 virus in Wuhan, China, in close proximity to a BSL4 virology lab, was more likely than not purely coincidental. Leading subject matter experts, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, reported it was more probable the novel C19 DNA was due to a coincidental genetic transfer/jump between species. Coincidentally, this determination was fortunate for Dr. Fauci who had oversight responsibilities on where NIH (US National Institutes of Health) monies were allocated internationally and the Chinese authorities who, if the lab was the source, minimally may not have had adequate safety protocols, and/or worse yet, may have been conducting gain of function research.  

We heard from our car repair Service Manager and the former NIH Director that things coincidentally happen, but they are probably not related. Yet, in the absence of a traditional vetting of coincidence, common sense may infer that if:

• we hadn’t had our fuel system checked out, the radio/NAV system malfunction would not have occurred in August 2023.  and if
• there hadn’t been ongoing virology research in Wuhan, directly or indirectly funded by US tax dollars, then there may not have been a deadly SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in 2019.    

Understanding whether or not coincidence should be counted or discounted would seem important and a priority over either personal or international reputations.  Such understanding was less than satisfying for the C19 pandemic. But, there’s another opportunity as the government eagerly looks to manage AI (artificial intelligence) and protect us all from unrelated coincidences associated with this technology.   

Thankfully, our car is working again.  Yet, if you hear of cars mysteriously turning into highway fireballs, just know the owners, like us, were probably compassionately and fully advised of this coincidental but not related occurrence.