Confirmation Bias?

I have had several people tell me that my experience with seeing the number 33 as often is I do, is confirmation bias at work.

For those who don’t remember what confirmation bias is, it refers to type of selective thinking whereby one tends to notice and to look for what confirms one’s beliefs, and to ignore, not look for, or undervalue the relevance of what contradicts ones beliefs.

In other words, my skeptics believe that I am looking for the number 33 and that is why I am seeing it so much. They think that during a regular day I come across hundreds of different numbers, many of which I would see more than once, however I do not document their appearance on a blog.

I certainly appreciate feedback from people and would never be ignorant enough to believe that there is no way the confirmation bias is at play here.  I am always open to others opinions. One thing I know for sure is that there is a definite presence of the number 33 in my life. I have looked for other number patterns as well and have not recognized one as prevalent as the number 33. 11:11 is seen occasionally but not daily.

In my opinion, I am not seeking out a 33 pattern. When a 33 sighting occurs it isn’t like seeing the number 23 or 77 or 80. The number 33 evokes a strange feeling within me, one that makes me recognize there is supposed to be a pattern to get my attention. Why? I have no idea…yet!

….And 33 Cents

I was going shopping with my mom the other day and on our way to the bank so she could get money she handed me a check that she told me to hold on to till we got to the bank. When I looked at the check I noticed the 33 Cents and thought I’d take a picture.

Additionally, while shopping with my mother that day, I took a picture of a “Sale” sign that had a price reduced to $3.33. However, when I arrived home to post the image on this blog, I couldn’t find it on my phone. So you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Does Wikileaks like 33?

In case you haven’t heard, Wikileaks, a non-profit media organization that publishes information from whistle blowers, has again released a quarter of a million documents that provide an inside look at government dealings.

What comes as a surprise to me is the day that Wikileaks and Julian Assange (the Wikileaks public representative) chose to release their hefty supply of insider documents. November 28th. What’s so strange about November 28th? Well if you follow this blog at all you’ll know it focuses on the number 33. November 28th, is the 332nd day of the year which means their are 33 days left in the year. Furthermore, the majority of the documents hit the mainstream news on the following day, November 29th, which happens to be the 333rd day of the year!

Coincidence?! Probably not. But this has me thinking something a little out there in conspiracy land. For now I will keep it to myself!

33 Percent in the News

I was just enjoying a delicious bagel and an orange this morning while reading the newspaper and to no surprise to me I stumbled across a long-time friend….the number 33!

This time the number was in reference to the percentage increase in Black Friday shoppers this year from last year.

Oh, how I wish I knew what the point of all this was!

33iseverywhere.com 33 Coincidence?

Just ordered the domain name 33iseverywhere.com for this website and when I looked at the receipt it showed the date and time of purchase….11/27/2010  8:33 pm. Coincidence? Most likely, not!

A Royal 33

Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement a few weeks ago. I’m not a big follower of England’s royal family’s relationships, or really anyone’s relationship, however one thing did catch my attention; the date of their wedding.

PW and KM decided to get married on April 29th of next year. Why, oh, why would they choose that date? I’ll tell you why! Because it adds up to 33, that’s why!

Ok, well maybe they didn’t choose that date for that reason. I just thought it was interesting that the number 33 showed up in their wedding date.

$33,000 In The Newspaper

This time 33 has appeared in my local newspaper about smoking ban supporters backing Ohio’s court decision to uphold the ban.

I have found the link to the  AP article online so that you can view the article. Click here to view article.

Also, after you click on the link above, pay close attention to when the article was posted online:

Nov. 18, 2010 11:33 AM ET.

No surprise to me! That’s how 33 works!

Ohio State #33 Jersey on Facebook

33 has decided to show up again! This time on my facebook account. A close friend of mine participated in a race over the Thanksgiving holiday and decided to wear this Ohio State Buckeyes #33  James Lauriniaitis Jersey. Given that it was an OSU vs. Michigan themed race, it isn’t too strange that she chose to wear a jersey. I can even accept that she chose #33.

This 33 encounter isn’t extremely unnatural, however it is just another example of how 33 has made its way into my life again! She could have decided to wear another OSU shirt, or decided not to post it online. I could have maybe not looked at facebook that day. Nope, all these things aligned so that I would login to facebook at just the right time to see this photo with a big 33 in it…bang, smack…right at the top of my news feed.