Share your personal experience/relflections about this quote:?

Question

"If something happens once, it will never happen again. But if something happens twice, it will surely happen a third time." [156]

~its from the wonderful novel, The Alchemist

thank you for your responses

Answer 1

I think the statement is illogical.  If something happens once and can never happen again, how can anything EVER happen twice or more?

Answer 2

I think that it is referring to a perception that if the probability of an event occurring at an exact location or time of day is quite low, it will tend not to occur more than once.

Of course, that is a fallacious premise.  For example, lightning does strike the same location twice.

Answer 3

Well, that's the classic "Rule of Three" in writing.  Especially in comedy.  Whenever I write something comedic, I always try to follow that rule.  If you do something twice, you have to do it a third time.  Why?  I'm not sure.  But it seems to always be the funniest when you do it that way.