It was a clap of thunder early Saturday morning that served as my alarm. I awoke remembering what I was thinking when I feel asleep, maybe because it was related to what was happening. I had been wondering about the difference between isolated and scattered. While I could intuit a definition, I googled, just to be sure, and sure enough, I was mostly right, I just didn’t know the percentages. Isolated is when only up to 20% of the region may experience the storm and scattered is up to 50%. Anything above that falls under the category of things being likely.
On my current morning route, chances are isolated that something will delay my early arrival at the office, unlike the afternoon when irritants are likely. A visit to the library will generally prove likely that I will find something that catches my interest, and I’ve learned when I might be able to easily buy gas instead of waiting in a long line. The dating apps have figured out some calculations that the programmers hope result in likely, though I’m sure that some subscribers have experienced more isolated success.
Now, if only there were predictors for flat tires, broken hearts, a fall down the stairs. And, even more, for going from percentages to certainty, such as knowing that the things out of sync in our society will be righted with one election. For knowing what happens at the moment of transition from life to death. But we humans must rely on faith, logic, science, the law of averages. We have choices, but mostly we have and have to rely on each other. Sometimes isolated. Sometimes scattered. Sometimes likely.
Marilyn
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