luck??

Is there a such thing as luck? Does luck involve fate in anyway? Maybe it's, and I quote "preparation meeting opportunity".


What do you think?

whats YOUR view on luck analytical? It'd be interesting to hear, if you dont mind

ok well i wanted to get a discussion going but alright let me set it up this way:
1) All actions are subject to cause and effect.
2) Not all the causes or effects of actions can be known by a single individual.
3) Because a single individual cannot know all causes and all effects there are times when causes and effects seem to be random.
4) These random times can be fortuitous or detrimental and are called luck.


What I am proposing as a corollary of this argument is that the belief in luck is then an automatic belief in a strict cause and effect chain.

It has been brought to my attention that luck is not to be confused with fate. Indeed this is true. Fate is the entire string of cause and effect taken on the whole over a lifetime with some sort of defined beginning and end. Luck, on the other hand, depending on perception, can be understood more in terms such as how "the rational mind reacts to the unordered world- an attempt to find meaning where there is none" Or, "luck" is nothing more than a convenient label for not being able to see the tiny fluttering movements of cause and effect.




Now that luck has been defined, the real sticky part comes in. How does luck interact with free will? This part of the argument will also take some definition.
1) Believing in luck is an admission of strict cause and effect.
2) At some point cause and effect will limit choice in any particular situation.
3)Once choice has been limited in any particular situation, "free will" is compromised.
4) When free will is compromised, a person is put in an "I could not do otherwise" situation.
5) An "I couldn ot do otherwise" situation is the breakdown of "free will".

At this point, I believe I have constructed a fairly sound argument so I will leave it up to you, gentle reader, to figure out if luck and free will can coexist.

ps................ oh yeah and dont forget tomorrows april first rabbit rabbit rabbit (it's good luck)

hmmm...everything i seem to conclude on this topic is contradictory so ill just let my thoughts run randomly......

"Preparation meets opportunity...." So if opportunity is attracted by your subconscious mind and preparation depends on your own hard work, then luck is simply something that can be attracted when enough preparation has been done. Makes sense. i dont know, guess its an either or thing. Like poker, hands r randomly drawn and your "fate" is determined before the hand even comes out. You either fold, stay, bluff, etc. Its all about being at the right place at the right time which in itself is luck in a nutshell. "Nothing happens by chance, there is no such thing as luck. There is meaning behind every little thing, as such a meaning behind this." Ummm, okay? What about the lottery, luck there right? So theres a meaning behind winning the lottery. Everything that happens has a specific cause or causes and there must be some relationships between the cause and effect. The Buddhists suggest being deeply learned and skilled, being well-trained, and using well-spoken words is the best good luck. Dont know if i agree with that one. The lottery in all actuality really has nothing to do with any of the suggestions listed above. Personally, i do believe in luck. I live my life and choose my own actions....in a way, its like luck is waiting for me.....freewill and luck can coexist because its freewill that led you to luck anyway, or was it fate? Man, i have a headache

if you believe in fate then luck can't exist..

btw someone has to win the lottery.. this doesn't mean that they have "luck".. it just means that one single person won.. that is all that was meant to happen.. or was it?

it has been fully analyzed but i still don't know..

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i agree wraith except we still can't say surely that there isn't freewill..

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Luck is odds and observation (oo). If your looking for the number 314 you we see it everywhere. The blind man is never lucky.

This makes luck/coincidence a powerful device however. It shows us what we want.

wow i think thats a very keen theory silver. like after i started listening to 311 i've seen that number everywhere.. the number would've been everywhere had i not known 311.. but this awareness had drawn me to see it was there.. (we only notice the things we want to)

On the subject of free will.

I have to agree that we seem to have no free will because as awakening and wraith pointed out, all we are is the sum of our experiences. Theoretically if you knew all the life experiences someone had you would be able to predict their every choice. Now in an attempt to argue the other side(because its my nature, another example of no free will) I will say this. An example of free will could be self-sacrifice. All living things are built to live. We are given many instruments to help us survive. We have an innate fear which prevents us from putting ourselves in harms way. Now someone named Jesus comes along and gets nailed to a cross and forgives mankind for the good of all people except himself. Could this be free will. Free will is said to be a human trait. If anyone else can come up with an example of selfsacrifice in nature I would appreciate it. A better example of human self sacrifice then the Jesus thing would be great too. While I do see some possible flaws in this argument it's the best I can do.

(I should have posted this in new thread, doh!)

luck is when preparation meets oppurtunity. at least thats what my soccer coach always says. haha. I guess that maybe only applies to luck in sports.

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"there are more things that a persons choices are based on than just instinct."

I believe this is true wraith..

sorry i just had to bring this back up.. cause lately alot has been happening to me that's making me question some of my own theories and ideas about luck,
730, ekimup, and or conway I would love to hear you'r thoughts..

i personaly dont know what i believe in... luck... hmmm... idk but i do believe in destiny. i believe that things are supposed to happen... that is y i i dont know if i believe in luck.... like desavue (spelling) occasionaly i have a dream and then it happens eventually... so how could i dream it then have it happen if it wasnt supposed to happen... like abe lincoln... he dreamed that he would die...