[Guest]

I personally, believe that luck exists,

and, I can also completely understand why a person would not believe in luck

because, I think it is all about how you define luck

to me, luck is just receiving the benefit of a chance, so, let's say you're trying to roll a 4 in a board game, and you succesfully do so.

then, you've had good luck, and if you hadn't rolled a 4, you would then have bad luck

so, I don't think of luck as the Force or something, just a way of, again receiving the benefit of chance.

what I wanted to ask, is do you believe in luck, and what does luck mean to you?

cheers

[unreality]

like you said, luck exists in retrospect. But you can't count on that luck to get you a 4 the next time.

Like if you got hit by lightning: "Aw, bad luck" cuz the chances went against you. Nothing more... it can't be used to sway future probabilities, just refer to past things

[Guest]

I don't really believe in luck, though how you define it isn't the generally accepted form. The way you describe luck is perfectly logical, I don't disagree with that, as it exists. What I don't believe is that if you have been doing well at something that either you will keep doing well(good luck), or it will turn against you(bad luck). If it is random chance, than one outcome does not affect the next, so there is no reason to believe in luck. People do believe it merely because they happen to do contiuously good or bad at something and have good or bad luck, respectively. It just happens, it's not determined.

Edited July 7, 2008 by Frost

[unreality]

I agree with Frost (we basically said the same thing)

[Guest]

and that's pretty much what I was thinking, I just neglected to put some of it into words

[akaslickster]

In other words, as I believe that it is superstition like walking under a ladder, it is just an old wives tale. Either you are happening or you are not. There is no control over that. No need for prayers or crossing your fingers or knocking on wood. You get a happy moment or you do not. They call it luck.

[Guest]

Yeah, superstition is pointless, it does absolutely nothing.

[unreality]

I usually regard religion as a superstition, a very strong one

[Guest]

well, superstition is based on religious beliefs, or at least some of it is.

like walking under a ladder is bad, according to superstition, because of an old religion that held triangles as sacred, (when a ladder is leaned up against a wall, it forms a triangle)

so, who knows, in a few thousand years, maybe the beliefs of todays religions will be demoted to just superstition, and new religions will come about

I dunno, I'm way off track of my own thread

[grey cells]

Well , my thoughts .

Luck is directly proportional to the amount of work or thought one gives to a problem . So I must I say , I believe in luck . But of course , if you don't try anything , luck is sure to desert you . And I am sure luck is just a psychological phenomenon , which boosts your confidence .

Conclusion : Luck is there and you better believe it for your own good.

[kingofpain]

Well, GC, I think you are referring to something along the lines of 'fortune favours the brave'. I think that is a different definition of luck you are using. If you invest more into X, the probability of 'successful outcome' (however you choose to define that) generally increases (at least in your perception. Otherwise, you as a rational being won't work at it). This is like saying that if I bet $5, my odds of winning $10 at blackjack are lower than if I bet $20. I agree with this view, but purely as a probabilistic phenomenon.

I however, do not believe in the "If I bet $5 with a simian appendage in my hand, my odds of winning $10 improve" kind of luck

Cheers!

--

Vig

[itachi-san]

Luck is truly mystifying. I'll try to explain how I think it works. I certainly believe in it. From my life experience, I can easily say it not only exists, but it is a crucial part of happiness or misery. There is more to good luck than a series of fortunate events and winning coin tosses, there is a very strong mental sensation similar to feeling 'invincible' or 'super-human' in one's endeavors that involve chance. Contrastingly, bad luck can be felt as well either as a foreboding feeling or an overwhelming feeling of 'impossibility' with chance. Luck is definitely a psychological phenomena but not inclusive to one's self because it is also heavily influenced by one's environment and company.

I have felt both these waves of luck many times and can mostly justify the outcomes. Whether experiencing good or bad luck sensations, one must have first had a series of chances fall in one direction (good or bad). The series is not numerically defined, but rather defined by each instance's potency. Once this series passes a mental limit, the surge of luck begins. As we all know, good or bad luck eventually end (not defined by time, but again defined by the potency of the surge). When the luck ends, imagine that that mental level dips below that 'undefined' limit and the mind returns to a more normal state of activity.

So then what happens to the mind when that 'luck limit' is reached? For good luck, I would assume that the CNS triggers certain hormones and neurotransmitters that would improve mood, thinking, reflex, timing, etc... and an overall euphoria which does in effect make one 'super-human' because it is above normal function. Similarly, when the limit is reached with bad luck, other hormones and neurotransmitters are released causing an overall depression and thus a lack in ability and mental function.

Of course this is all just my idea, but it perfectly describes how I get once I've built up my luck playing beer pong. Once I hit my lucky streak playing pong, no cup gets left behind