7 or 13?
Share why if you wish.
7 Or 13?
Category: Luck
What Is Luck?
We are all familiar with the concept of luck. It is a fairly simple idea. However, can you actually come up with a definition?
The most basic definition for what luck is would seem to be: “something good happens to you.”
Maybe that is sufficient. In a particular scenario, something can happen. If that something is good, it is good luck; if that something is bad, it is bad luck.
This way of thinking introduces the modifiers “good” and “bad”. Okay then: what are they modifying?
If we accept this idea of good luck is “something good happens”, it would seem the thing being modified is “something happens”. Does that make sense? But then, the one thing that we can be certain of is that something will happen. Things are constantly changing. Things have to happen in order for there to be change. Is everything around us constantly in a state of luck, sometimes good and sometimes bad?
However, sometimes it is the lucky outcome that something *doesn’t* happen. For example, if you fall out of tree (bad luck), you might think it lucky if you didn’t break a bone (good luck).
So now luck is “something does or doesn’t happen”? That seems pretty vague.
The concept of luck also would seem to contain some notion of likelihood. If something is overwhelmingly likely and indeed comes to pass, that would seem to be less lucky than something that is unlikely to happen. Finding a penny is lucky; finding a hundred dollars is less likely, and therefore luckier.
Can you think of an explanation for how you think of the concept of luck?
Related questions: How has luck shaped your life? Is thirteen an unlucky number? What makes change possible? What is the best sporting event you have seen in person?
Should We Try To Predict The Future?
Despite many thousands of years of practice, human beings are mostly unable to predict the future. After failure upon failure, the question arises: should we even try?
From big events to trivial ones, we humans are really inept when it comes to divining what comes next. There are some very basic things — the sun will rise tomorrow — and that’s about it. Jobs are unstable. Health issues can arise at any time. Marriages fail regularly. And of course, the farther out in the future you go, the less certain things get.
Admittedly, as our understanding of the universe grows, some predictions come easier. For example, scientists can predict with great accuracy solar and lunar eclipses.
And yet, even science has its limitations. Predicting exactly when a particular breakthrough will or will not happen is an exercise in futility. Science is, inherently, an exploration of the unknown, which means that progress is inherently unknowable.
None of this stops us from trying to predict what comes next. From taking your umbrella with you when you go out for the day, to selecting the numbers for the lottery jackpot, we can’t help but guess what will happen next.
A lot of time, effort, and money is spent regularly on prognostication. Insurance companies have armies of actuaries. Pundits get paid to sound confident in their predictions of the next election, even if they were completely wrong about the last one. Meteorologists use the latest in cutting edge technology in forecasting the weather.
Could all this time, effort, and money be put to better use? Would our lives be better without the constantly mediocre attempts to predict the future? Or is it the case that our efforts in that direction is what drives us to learn? To make new discoveries that can make our lives better in other ways?
Related questions: What is time? How much does your past determine your future? How do you plan for the future? What is your five year prediction? Ten?
Is Thirteen An Unlucky Number?
Some people think thirteen is an unlucky number. Some even go so far as to avoid the 13th floor of hotels, or the 13th row of an airplane. Is there any truth to this fear? If not, why does it exist?
Share why if you wish.
How Are You Fortunate?
It can be important, for a variety of reasons, to recognize the ways in which you are fortunate.
There are different ways fortune might smile upon you. A smart decision you made in the past might have delivered a good outcome. The assistance of a friend or family member might have made things easier for you. You might have even received a lucky break now and again. Or some combination of those.
It can be good for your mental health to acknowledge ways in which you are fortunate. Doing so can even take the edge off an unlucky or unfortunate turn of events.
Related: Listen to an episode of the Intellectual Roundtable Podcast, where Lee and Michael discuss this question: ‘How do you show thanks?’ We discuss another question as well, ‘What book has had the biggest impact on you?’
There are other ways that recognizing your fortune can help. You can become more attuned to people who are not as fortunate — or are fortunate in different ways. If you can identify them, you might even be able to determine ways that you can reproduce that fortune, and improve your life even further.
How are you fortunate? Is your fortune the result of conscious decisions, or due to blind luck?
Related questions: How has luck shaped your life? What are you grateful for? How do you show thanks? How can we appreciate life more?