Defining Things: On Accidents

Accident-
a) an unforseen and unplanned event or circumstance

Possible examples depending on things like faith tradition and belief in things like fate-The existence of sentient life in the universe. The universe itself. Duck billed platypus. Cars. The Cubs never winning the world series. People who are born gravely ill. Nascar.

Possible relevant quotes:

Nothing is an accident
Most things are not an accident.
Honestly, now that you're three I don't mind telling you that you were an accident.
Accidents happen.


b) lack of intention or necessity-Possible examples depending on the random vagaries of a mind that may set it apart from another mind-A chance meeting on a train with an old friend. A chance meeting with someone, who in the future becomes your spouse. However, that scenario can be called into question because obviously it's really more of a surprise rather than an accident.

2) An unfortunate incident resulting especially resulting from carelessness or ignorance

Possible examples culled from the day to day. The car accident that I got into today. Though I sort of bristle at the words like ignorance and careless. I'd settle for something more along the lines of, in a hurry as I took the time to look left and then right. However, when crossing six lanes of traffic, sans stop light, I guess it's probably best to look both ways twice rather than once because you may end up side swiping a person that's decided in between that first look left and then right to, you know, go, which results in a bit of a sideswipe as you accelerate to try and make it across five lanes only to be impeded by some serious metal. Relatedly I'm happy to report that my first question to the other driver was, "are you okay," this provided without any examining of vehicles or damages or trying to figure out just what had happened.

And for the next few hours as I was walking around work, picking up books, scrolling on the computer, I kept smelling her perfume as if she was still standing a few feet away from me, this unknown human being, saying, "I'm all right. I'm just shaking."

c) an unexpected and medially important bodily event especially when injurious-

Skiiing into a tree. Attempting to jump over thirty parked cars on a motorcycle etc.

d) (And thank god for d, to lighten the mood) used euphemistically to refer to an involuntary act or instance of urination or defecation. Author's addendum: Sometimes both.

Examples: Sadie accidented all over the wall. It, the accident, shot out like three feet.

3. A nonessential property or quality of an entity or circumstance

Examples: Being born in a particular country. Being born into a particular time. Being born into a particular country at a certain period of time that may have lead to a person being a grievous sinner or some kind of saint depending, at least in part, on circumstance. The accident of bad brownies.


Wikipedia
"An accident is a specific, unpredictable, unusual and unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with marked effects. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence."

Another failure for physics


How far back can I trace this. I went to bed at nine o'clock because I was exhausted from work/ child care. Therefore, I didn't set my alarm, which caused me to wake up late, at which point I was in a hurry, and therefore, kind of fudged it a bit when I was crossing five lanes of traffic rather than waiting for a complete opening. Though it's been said that according to quantum mechanics one object can occasionally pass through another. I am sad to report that this was not that occasion.

In a sentence

Everything that happened to him seemed to be an accident, and it was this attitude that had him lodging complaints well past the age when such complaints were even remotely paid attention to, rather, nothing was an accident, or so it seems, hadn't he read Taylor's argument on fatalism, two objects failing to obtain, the absence of free will, such a doctrine makes the very word accident superfluous does it not; he was not really reading a lot of Taylor in those days and so continued to perceive everything as an accident, even this curiously long sentence.