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Luck

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This article is about fortune. Luck also refers to: Luck, Volhynia (Ukraine), and Luck, Wisconsin (USA).

Luck is the belief in an organization of fortunate and unfortunate events. Luck is a form of superstition which is interpreted differently by different individuals.

Contents

Luck as a fallacy

A rationalist approach to luck includes the application of the rules of probability, and an avoidance of unscientific beliefs. The rationalist feels the belief in luck is a result of poor reasoning or wishful thinking. To a rationalist, a believer in luck commits the post hoc logical fallacy:
A happens (luck-attracting event or action) and then B happens;
Therefore, A caused B.

In this worldview, probability is only affected by confirmed causal connections. A brick falling on a person walking below, therefore, is not a function of that person's luck, but is instead the result of a collection of understood, (or explainable) occurrences. Statistically, every person walking under the building was just as likely to have the brick fall on them.

An alternative rationalist approach to luck is to contrast it with control. Luck is that which happens beyond a persons control. This view incorporates phenomena that are chance happenings, a person's place of birth for example, but where there is no uncertainty involved, or where the uncertainty is irrelevant. Within this framework one can differentiate between three different types of luck:

  1. Constitutional luck, that is, luck with factors beyond a person's control because they cannot be changed. Place of birth and genetic constitution are typical examples.
  2. Circumstantial luck, that is, luck with factors that cannot control because they are randomly brought on. Accidents and epidemics are typical examples.
  3. Consequential luck, that is, luck with factors you cannot control because they are a capricious result of your actions. A typical example would be throwing a rock off of a cliff. Hitting someone walking below is a consequence of numerous factors beyond your control, it is a matter of luck.
The gambler's fallacy and inverse gambler's fallacy both explain some reasoning problems in common beliefs in luck. They involve denying the unpredictability of random events: "I haven't rolled a six all week, so I'll definitely roll one tonight".

Luck is merely an expression noting an extended period of noted outcomes, completely consistent with random walk probability theory. Wishing one "good luck" will not cause such an extended period, but it expresses positive feelings toward the one - not necessarily wholly undesirable.

Luck as an There is also a series of spiritual, or supernatural beliefs regarding fortune. These beliefs vary widely from one to another, but most agree that luck can be influenced through spiritual means by performing certain rituals or by avoiding certain situations.
One such activity is Prayer, a religious practice in which this belief is particularly strong. Many cultures and religions worldwide place a strong emphasis on a person's ability to influence their luckiness by ritualistic means, sometimes involving sacrifice, omens or spells. Others associate luck with a strong sense of superstition, that is, a belief that certain taboo or blessed actions will influence how fortune favors them for the future.

Carl Jung described syncronicity: the "temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events". He described coincidences as an effect of a collective unconscious.

Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions believe in the will of a supreme being rather than luck as the primary influence in future events. The degrees of this Divine Providence vary greatly from one sect to another; however, most acknowledge divine providence as at least a partial if not complete influence on luck. These religions, in their early development, accommodated many traditional practices from their reasons. All three, at different times, accepted omens and practice forms of ritual sacrifice in order to divine the will of their supreme being or to influence His favoritism.

Mesoamerican religions, such as the Aztecs, Mayans and Inca, had particularly strong beliefs regarding the relationship between rituals and luck. In these cultures, human sacrifice (both of willing volunteers and captured enemies) was seen as a way to please the gods and earn their favor for the city offering the sacrifice. The Mayans, also believed in blood offerings, where men or women wanting to earn favor with the gods to bring about good luck would cut themselves and bleed on the gods altar.

Many African religions such as voodoo and hoodoo have a strong belief in superstition. Some of these religions include a belief that third parties can influence an individuals luck. Shamans and witches are both loved and feared based on their ability to provide good or bad fortune for those in the villages near them.

Luck as placebo

Some encourage the belief in luck as a false idea, but which may spawn positive thinking, and alter ones responses for the better. Others like Jean Paul Sartre and Sigmund Freud, feel a belief in luck has more to do with a locus of control for events in one's life, and the subsequent escape from personal responsibility. According to this theory, one who ascribes their travails to "bad luck" will be found upon close examination to be living risky lifestyles. On the other hand, people who consider themselves "lucky" in having good health may be actually reaping the benefits of a cheerful outlook and satisfying social relationships, both of which are well known statistically to be protective against many stress-related diseases. If "good" and "bad" events occur at random to everyone, believers in good luck will experience a net gain in their fortunes, and vice versa for believers in bad luck. This is clearly likely to be self-reinforcing. Thus, although untrue, a belief in good luck may actually be an adaptive meme.

Manifestations

Numerology

Most cultures consider some numbers to be lucky or unlucky. This is found to be particularly strong in Asian cultures, where the obtaining of "lucky" telephone numbers, automobile license plate numbers, and household addresses are actively sought, sometimes at great monetary expense.

Example Uses

Luck in Scripture

Items or events

Several items or happenings are considered lucky or unlucky.

Lucky

Unlucky

Luck in fiction

Songs about luck

See also

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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