As I write this, it’s Saint Patrick’s Day again. What a coincidence that I’d choose this topic on this holiday. 🙂
I don’t really believe in luck. The scientific side of me definitely sees “lucky” events as just very low-probability occurrences. I’ve seen evidence that that’s all such events are.
For example, I read a story that, years ago, a group of people bought a huge number of lottery tickets (5 million!) in a drawing since it was guaranteed by probability that many potential winning tickets would be in that batch and they’d make a profit. Them winning wasn’t lucky at all, just smart application of math. It also forced a rule change to give such investment groups a harder time at winning.
The lotteries of the world aren’t the only such gambles to get such attention. The bottom line though is that probability says something that’s possible is likely to occur, and with enough tries at some event, it will.
I suppose that when I feel lucky, I’m really feeling glad that the odds worked in my favor, but it’s often due to taking measures to improve them, so what’s really happening is the result of some focused effort. Being in the right place at the right time does matter. We make our own luck, in other words.
What do you think? Is there something you feel lucky about?
Daily Prompt: Luck
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