RE: [escepticos] Necrofilia kennediana

["Javier Armentia" <planetario@...>]

Recomiendo la lectura del artículo sobre coincidencias (entre ellas las
presidenciales de que se habla) que aparece en el Skeptical Inquirer de
septiembre de 1998.
Está, en inglés, en la red: http://www.csicop.org/si/9809/coincidence.html
Su autor es Bruce Martin
En concreto, copio un par de párrafos:

It is always possible to comb random data to find some regularities. A
well-known qualitative example is the comparison of coincidences in the
lives of Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy, two presidents with seven letters
in their last names, and elected to office 100 years apart, 1860 and 1960.
Both were assassinated on Friday in the presence of their wives, Lincoln in
Ford's theater and Kennedy in an automobile made by the Ford motor company.
Both assassins went by three names: John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald,
with fifteen letters in each complete name. Oswald shot Kennedy from a
warehouse and fled to a theater, and Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and
fled to a barn (a kind of warehouse). Both succeeding vice-presidents were
southern Democrats and former senators named Johnson (Andrew and Lyndon),
with thirteen letters in their names and born 100 years apart, 1808 and
1908.

But if we compare other relevant attributes we fail to find coincidences.
Lincoln and Kennedy were born and died in different months, dates, and
states, and neither date is 100 years apart. Their ages at death were
different, as were the names of their wives. Of course, had any of these
features corresponded for the two presidents, it would have been included in
the list of "mysterious" coincidences. For any two people with reasonably
eventful lives it is possible to find coincidences between them. Two people
meeting at a party often find some striking coincidence between them, but
what it is -- birthdate, hometown, etc. -- is not predicted in advance.

Pues eso
Saludos


javier armentia