It sounds like the opening of either a Sherlock Holmes story or a Shakespearean tragedy. Two British businessmen take on a US commercial behemothOriginally a monster described in the Bible, today the term is used to describe anything large, unwieldy and potentially dangerous.. The struggle engulfs their lives for over a decade.

Finally, they win their fight and look forward to returning to their lives - only to perish in two freak accidents.

That is the tragic tale of Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain. Lynch went missing early this week when his superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily, while Chamberlain was hit by a car in England, and later died in hospital.

Throughout history, human beings have found reasons for their misfortune in nature and the divine.

In ancient Greece, it was believed that every being had been assigned a destiny by the Three Fates. Even the gods could not interfere with their work.

Today, most neuroscientistsA scientist who studies the brain and the nervous system.  think our faith in fate is a byproduct of our evolutionA process of gradual change that takes place over many generations, during which species of animals, plants, or insects slowly change some of their physical characteristics.. Early human beings benefited from being able to see patterns in the world around them.

However, this pattern-forming ability in our brain can sometimes mislead us by identifying patterns that are not really there.

And some say that believing that the things that happen are predetermined can help make us more confident.

But the flipside of this coin is fatalism: the belief that there is no point in striving for anything, as we cannot do anything to affect what will happen.

Is there such a thing as fate?

Yes! It would be arrogant to think the rules that move planets do not apply to us. Events like this seem to prove the universe has a plan for us - whether good or bad.

No! What we call fate is nothing but an illusion of our pattern-seeking primate brains. The world is actually ruled by randomness.

FOR YOUR SUMMER READING CHALLENGE CLUE GO TO STEP SIX IN THE SIX STEPS TO DISCOVERY BELOW.