From whom I wonder? Ants? Spirits? A burglar with a sense of humour? I have no idea. I do know it's unwise to ignore messages from other species, such as dolphins, so I'm taking this seriously.
But is it really a message or could it just be a chance arrangement of random items in an unswept utility room, in which our pattern-seeking brains find meaning where there is none?
Good question. It's often been said that a monkey tapping randomly on a typewriter could, given an infinite time, reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. [Somebody actually tested this, by the way - I'm not making this up - and left a typewriter in the monkey cage at Paignton Zoo for six weeks. They didn't get Hamlet. The monkeys typed the letter S for while, got bored, stood up and pissed on the typewriter.]
Where was I? Oh yeah, random or message? See I don't think I've got ants and I know I don't have monkeys. Maybe spirits then? But I've lived in this house for 40 years and, athough not the most observant, I must have noticed something by now if the house were haunted.
Even without ants and monkeys, the human brain can find meaning - such as faces in clouds or fairy castles in a fire - where there is none. The scientific explanation points to the difference between incidence and coincidence. What's the chances of stuff on a floor arranging itself into the word Lol? Not high.
But what's the chances of stuff on a floor unswept for weeks arranging itself into something that seems to have meaning? Considerably higher.
So we go with the science then and decide it's not a message? Wee..ell. I agree it's probably not, but should I pass up the chance of a friendly encounter with ants, mice or voices from beyond? I don't think I should.
