{"schema":"record/v1","id":"art_01M5NNS5AE5D9556PGCJZ7Q9JW","type":"article","revision":1,"etag":"\"r1.s0\"","title":"What exactly counts as a 'coincidence' in a plot (as opposed to ordinary chance), and is it forbidden?","summary":"Archer (1912) separates chance (an ordinary, single, unplanned event such as a letter going astray) from coincidence ('a special and complex form of chance': two or more chances that fit into each other). He treats chance as legitimate and even necessary ('Entirely to eliminate chance ... a very unreasonable austerity') and reserves objection for coincidence, especially pile-ups of chances, where the objection is that the dramatist is 'cogging the dice'. Phillips (1914) gives a photoplay-manual definition from the same period: a chance incident 'that conveniently helps out the plot and is obviously unconvincing to the audience'. Neither source gives a numeric limit; both rely on the audience's sense of plausibility. A newcomer's first rule from these sources: count how many independent chances must line up, and say whether each one is an everyday happening or a fitted-together coincidence.","status":"active","body":{"text":"Archer (1912) separates chance (an ordinary, single, unplanned event such as a letter going astray) from coincidence ('a special and complex form of chance': two or more chances that fit into each other). He treats chance as legitimate and even necessary ('Entirely to eliminate chance ... a very unreasonable austerity') and reserves objection for coincidence, especially pile-ups of chances, where the objection is that the dramatist is 'cogging the dice'. Phillips (1914) gives a photoplay-manual definition from the same period: a chance incident 'that conveniently helps out the plot and is obviously unconvincing to the audience'. Neither source gives a numeric limit; both rely on the audience's sense of plausibility. A newcomer's first rule from these sources: count how many independent chances must line up, and say whether each one is an everyday happening or a fitted-together coincidence.\n\nCurator qualifications: All 9 excerpts located in the Gutenberg Archer text; chance vs coincidence ('a special and complex form of chance') as stated.\n\nEvidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.","citations":[{"url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10865/pg10865.txt","note":"candidate evidence excerpts"},{"url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70937/pg70937.txt","note":"candidate evidence excerpts"}]},"categories":["T01"],"tags":[],"language":"en","visibility":"public","moderation":{"state":"visible","reason":null},"evidence":{"inspection":"source_inspected","execution":"not_run","review":"unreviewed","review_revision":null,"claims":[{"url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10865/pg10865.txt","claim":"Archer (1912) separates chance (an ordinary, single, unplanned event such as a letter going astray) from coincidence ('a special and complex form of chance': two or more chances that fit into each other). He treats chance as legitimate and even necessary ('Entirely to eliminate chance ... a very unreasonable austerity') and reserves objection for coincidence, especially pile-ups of chances, where the objection is that the dramatist is 'cogging the dice'. Phillips (1914) gives a photoplay-manual definition from the same period: a chance incident 'that conveniently helps out the plot and is obviously unconvincing to the audience'. Neither source gives a numeric limit; both rely on the audience's sense of plausibility. 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He treats chance as legitimate and even necessary ('Entirely to eliminate chance ... a very unreasonable austerity') and reserves objection for coincidence, especially pile-ups of chances, where the objection is that the dramatist is 'cogging the dice'. Phillips (1914) gives a photoplay-manual definition from the same period: a chance incident 'that conveniently helps out the plot and is obviously unconvincing to the audience'. Neither source gives a numeric limit; both rely on the audience's sense of plausibility. A newcomer's first rule from these sources: count how many independent chances must line up, and say whether each one is an everyday happening or a fitted-together coincidence.\n\nCurator qualifications: All 9 excerpts located in the Gutenberg Archer text; chance vs coincidence ('a special and complex form of chance') as stated.\n\nEvidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.","citations":[{"url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10865/pg10865.txt","note":"candidate evidence excerpts"},{"url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70937/pg70937.txt","note":"candidate evidence excerpts"}]},"tags":[],"type":"article","links":[],"title":"What exactly counts as a 'coincidence' in a plot (as opposed to ordinary chance), and is it forbidden?","rights":[{"notes":"Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.","hosting":"permitted","component":"documentation","license_id":null,"modification":"unknown","evidence_urls":[],"model_training":"unknown","redistribution":"permitted"}],"summary":"Archer (1912) separates chance (an ordinary, single, unplanned event such as a letter going astray) from coincidence ('a special and complex form of chance': two or more chances that fit into each other). He treats chance as legitimate and even necessary ('Entirely to eliminate chance ... a very unreasonable austerity') and reserves objection for coincidence, especially pile-ups of chances, where the objection is that the dramatist is 'cogging the dice'. Phillips (1914) gives a photoplay-manual definition from the same period: a chance incident 'that conveniently helps out the plot and is obviously unconvincing to the audience'. Neither source gives a numeric limit; both rely on the audience's sense of plausibility. A newcomer's first rule from these sources: count how many independent chances must line up, and say whether each one is an everyday happening or a fitted-together coincidence.","evidence":{"claims":[{"url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10865/pg10865.txt","claim":"Archer (1912) separates chance (an ordinary, single, unplanned event such as a letter going astray) from coincidence ('a special and complex form of chance': two or more chances that fit into each other). 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