A 35 year old woman walks down the street and a pot lands on her head. She is paralyzed from the neck down. For 5 years she goes through extensive physiotherapy until she gradually starts regaining basic functionality on her hands. 10 years pass and she can now starts taking her first steps. She was insured so she never has to worry about money ever again for the remainder of her life.
A child attends a dinner with his unemployed mother. At the dinner, the child gets bored and starts drawing a red sports car on a piece of napkin using his mom lipstick. The host of the dinner notices the child's doodle. It reminds him of his childhood when he too used to draw red sports cars. The host decides to hire his mother as his advisor. The child eventually grows up to become the CEO of the host's company. His success is short-lived since he dies tragically at the age of 35 from crashing a red sports car. He had a good life.
We can post these stories in a thousand online forums and host debates about which person of the two was the luckiest. People who value long livelihood and learning through life's struggles would consider the paralyzed women lucky. In contract, those who value a life full of excitement and fast rewards would appreciate dying from living one's dream.
People would create stories about how the boy's luck came to be and whether he worked on it. Similarly, some would even suggest that the woman having the pot landing on her head was nothing but a form of paying for the past sins. At the end, the narrative people will come up with will tell us more about them rather than what actually happened in the stories.
Nature, the host of our lives, does not care how we perceive luck. The concept of luck is nothing but an illusive narrative. A young couple might find a pregnancy a curse. The same couple, and after 20 years of trying, might find it a blessing. We like to talk about how we" make our luck" and how "if you believe in yourself anything is possible". We like to remember the times we truly believed in ourselves and made something amazing happen. The event will function as proof that our "mind game system" works. We will summon religion, spiritual forces and quantum events to justify our claim. Our brains will create its own narrative because it likes to forget the times we tried as hard but all those extraordinary events never took place.
Confirmation bias is the foundation of belief. It helps us go on in a world that is immensely chaotic. Without it, most people would end up depressed and/or suicidal. Biases, such as ones perceived as good or bad luck, blinds us enough to create a convincing narrative for our story here on earth. They fuse with our culture and so they provide us with something to hold onto. Luck is nothing but a matter of perspective. Our inability to rationally calculate the innumerable probabilities that govern our lives might also be the only thing that keeps (most of) us sane.
I'm a high school Maths teacher and while statistics is my least favorite part of the subject to teach I think it may be the most important.
I try to show how dishonestly presented statistics and probability can be used to fool you and how to look at situations and try to apply strict logical thinking to not get fooled.
A lot of sensational media and most politicians use humans inability to deal with these concepts instinctively against use, I like to think I help a like little to help students see through a lot of the bullshit.
Indeed. I think you will enjoy the book "Fooled by randomness"
Ah, one of my favourite books !
recommended to read it so many times now. and I have not got around to it, unforgivable, I know. will download it now and read it next
Yet another book on my reading list. I think it's very possible for it to skip most of the queue...
Have you heard of the trivium way of explaining things,I've only discovered this recently but found it very helpful to explainand understand certain things.
The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric (input, process, and output).[1]
The trivium is implicit in De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the term was not used until the Carolingian Renaissance, when it was coined in imitation of the earlier quadrivium.[2] Grammar, logic, and rhetoric were essential to a classical education, as explained in Plato's dialogues. The three subjects together were denoted by the word trivium during the Middle Ages, but the tradition of first learning those three subjects was established in ancient Greece. Contemporary iterations have taken various forms, including those found in certain British and American universities (some being part of the Classical education movement) and at the independent Oundle School in the United Kingdom.The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric (input, process, and output).[1]
Grammar teaches the mechanics of language to the student. This is the step where the student "comes to terms," defining the objects and information perceived by the five senses. Hence, the Law of Identity: a tree is a tree, and not a cat.
Logic (also dialectic) is the "mechanics" of thought and of analysis, the process of identifying fallacious arguments and statements and so systematically removing contradictions, thereby producing factual knowledge that can be trusted.
Rhetoric is the application of language in order to instruct and to persuade the listener and the reader. It is the knowledge (grammar) now understood (logic) and being transmitted outwards as wisdom (rhetoric). @wikipedia
what does that have to do with anything?
also, it is bullshit. Krnel uses similar nonsene all the time.
Just because it is ancient, doesn't mean it applies.
Truth is a human construct and therefore subjective to interpretation and point of examination.
I like this
so many things are held up to be better just because they are old days.
Dara O'Briain an Irish comedian has a great stand up about old medical remedies
Here it is, it is towards the middle but it is all worth a watch
lol. had a good laugh with this one. nice one.
Great one! :D LOL!
O.k i get the point, have just watched Dara o'Brian giving some good examples. I,m new to all this but have the same problem when talking. Like a lot of people i sometimes say things out loud without really giving it any proper thought.
no need to apologize. We are all students here.
I can't say that came up in my teaching degree, it strikes me as something you hear in a power point presentation, with no real substance. But I will try give it a look.
The trivium is a just a structure of teaching. It does not apply well to luck or randomness.
It is a toolbox for analysing what happened, after it happened.
The most important thing about the trivium is comparing it to modern govern-cement schooling.
If you learn by method of the trivium, you start by reading all of the great works.
Then you are taught how to synthesize, put together the different thoughts.
Then you are taught how to express these thoughts to other is a convincing manner.
As opposed to modern govern-cement schools which start with rhetoric.
Or, they teach you what to think, not how to think.
This is what you call a deepity, just a complex one. It's just something that sounds deep and meaningful, but actually doesn't say much and doesn't have much value. What do rhetoric and grammar have to do with truth? Maybe a bit with teaching it, but not much.
@kyriacos
good post ,,, please come in my blog n follow back
Yeah read any of John Stossel's books and he will give you inside perspective and real life examples how media uses numbers and statistics to sensationalize issues for views.
While I don't believe in luck as a child of God, I do believe the God has given each us of the ability to deal with any and all things in life - good or bad. And, if we allow him, he always takes the lemon in our lives and make lemonade of it! So, I take great comfort in knowing that no matter what happens in my life that all things are working together for my good. To GOD be the glory!
Indeed, luck is not enough to bring people up the ladder of success and wealth. All the negative impression of other people's success actually creates a belief in our subconscious, that to be successful,
Generally, we think that luck is the key to a person's success or wealth. But apparently, luck will not last long if someone is not ready to accept it.
luck is again, a matter of interpretation.
This is exactly the reason I get so irked when people come up with their "everything happens for a reason" pseudo-wisdom after something unpleasant happens to them. There is no ulterior, grand plan behind why things happen, it is just your mind trying to make sense in hindsight out of an event that you perceived as negative – an effort to rationalize the random in order to gain some sense of control over the uncontrollable and unforeseeable.
Awesomely put.
Well, technically everything does happen for a reason...
It's just the reason is a cosmic dice throw of circumstances past and present combined with your current situation and the decisions made by you and everyone around you ;)
@pbock True, but I doubt that is what people who constantly use that set phrase have in mind whenever they utter it...
Yeah...
but its what we'll have in mind when we get so annoyed that we just need to shoot them down by seemingly agreeing with them, then explaining why their version is not what WE think 😈
It does not matter how long you live, important is how do you live your life. Some people have experienced more in 30 years than some in 2 lives
Quite accurate. Often longevity involves senseless copy-pasta of the same daily events.
I disagree, the length does matter from my perspective. One reason for us dying by disease is a lifestyle far from optimal and not aligned with nature, our great Mother! :) This of course affects the quality of life as well, it seems length and quality of life is connected as with most things.
Life's too short, and you never know when its goin
"At the end, the the narrative" - typo
Really like your footer! :)
"The concept of luck is nothing but an illusive narrative" , I think this sentences conclude everything about the luck itself.
We are making our luck with our hand...
luck makes our hand
Very meaningful post 👏
Good luck with your perspective! 😆 😅 😂 🤣
🎹 🥁 🎷 🎺 🎸 🎻 I’m trying to use a lot of emojis here to Celebrate the World Emoji Day this week. Are you? 🎊 🎉 🎉 🎉⛄️
Good post. Thanks for sharing
interesting keep posting , looking forward for more goods stuffs
Mind Blown! Beautiful words.
This is so true man, I feel like our perspective is involved almost in EVERYTHING happens to us every day. Thanks for sharing this meaningful story, @kyriacos! I have just upvoted the post of yours ;)
Good post but dude, everything is a matter of perspective. Our Perspective is our only medium to reach reality.
Well said really
Keep it up
Good article
I have got lots of information from this post.
This is exactly what everyone should do you will not achieve your goals if you not start so better get started with small steps and success will follow if you put the efforts.
Great post once again @rashidminhas upvoted
Titanic's passengers weren't lucky at all.
Great post. Best regards and very happy to get to know you :-)
By the way, @kyriacos, it boggles the mind to see how many people completely miss the point of your articles on a daily basis, or seem to pick up on a random line from your article and start weird tangents out of it.
Luck is really a matter of perspective. Although, there's no luck in the real world, what you sow, you reap in the end. Luck won't get you reap more than you have sown. The only thing which ensures the success is only - Hrad work . Do it and forget luck.
Anyways this a good article, liked by many . A big thumbs up for your work @kyriacos
it's a matter of perspective indeed. life is tough, we only have ourselves to give that best cheer we need to always be positive. Nice post.
https://steemit.com/movie/@koshin/witchville
Live life till you are here. Well written article @kyriacos.
26 Most Simple Life Changes You'll be Able to Make Today.
https://steemit.com/life/@swaticute/26-most-simple-life-changes-you-ll-be-able-to-make-today
Its shows that you must live your life as best as possible. Do all the thinhs you would like to do, do it now, don't wait till ,... later ?? Later could be gone earlier then you think ,..... nobody knows ,......
Great post,have never heard that story before but i totally get what you're going on about.
Only since my heart attack 2 years causing me to quit my job,have i started to realise that the world we live in and the current economical situation is going from bad to worse.I used to be quite happy going to work,paying my mortgage and believing everything i watched on the news and TV. But know i have spare time and i use it a lot more wisely,doing things that actually matter.
Sorry to hear that. What things started to matter most?
I started to realise that i was spending too much time working. I was going in early,staying late ,working Saturday and Sundays . All this time away from my family and friends,just to earn extra money to buy things that have little value,or no real use. At one point in time the childcare i was paying for,was more expensive than my mortgage. It's crazy when i think about how much money iv'e actually spent and how little i have to show for it.
I'm concerned about the future for my children and i'm worried about the education they receive. It's worrying that the education system doesn't prepare you for the real world. It gives a biased view on the economical problems created by mankind.
Indeed, modern education is rather bullshit. If I ever have kids I will advice them to get certifications from online classes rather than spending to much valuable time in school.
All best to you and your family.
Luck is not how long but how well.
Yes...we do search for something to bring order to our perception of life. Seeking security. Great post.
existential woo
meep
Luck (like broken hearts) is for assholes! (Copyright:Joe...JUST Joe 7/19/17)
Very true, I especially love the part about how our perception of luck has nothing to do with how it is carried out. Everything goes back to the mind and how you view the world around you. Once this is understood, you can make better use of your limited time on this earth.
Luck? We make our own luck. We also make our own karma.................
no you don't
Upvoted & RESTEEMED! :)
I was extremely LUCKY to have read this post and all of the thought provoking comments.
Or maybe the odds were stacked in my favor by following @kyriacos?
Full disclosure, I also follow @krnel.
That's the beauty of critical thinking, I don't have to agree with everything someone says to be able to enjoy thoughtful discussions with them.
may the force be with you. lol
By the Force (& loaded dice) may I be victorious.
Some people call it luck,
I call it timing.
spoken like a true God
I believe in being futunate instead of being lucky
every time i read about luck the word maybe comes to mind :)
we can't judge the luck of others... it's really a matter of perspective
I recommend to read Immanuel Kant, "Critique of Practical Reason".
read it
Did You like Kant's position? I mean, it's kind of "Man forges his own destiny" type of approach, but I somehow like it.
Yeah, @kyriacos... "if you believe in yourself anything is possible".
Nice Story.
Luck comes to those who are well prepared. Meditate, work on yourself, ride the flight that is life and every moment will be uncovered as a lucky one, for which it truly is.
Beautiful post!
I've always taken luck to mean "preparation meets opportunity", then again you can always create a narrative in your own mind to explain that you were lucky because you were prepared and vice versa.
So in the end, luck is like the dark matter of the Universe, we think it exists because it allows us to make sense of this chaotic world we live~
Trying to find a pattern to seemingly random events and give it a name or label has been the crux of human civilization and sanity.
Without it , like you say, most of us would end up severely depressed or suicidal.
No matter how much we claim to want to be unique or belonging to a herd, there seems to be a fine balance of being able to pick "certain parts to belonging to a herd" (say a religion, nationality or whatever), and then having the personal freedom to produce a redux version of their thoughts with our own experience.
we are not infallible, infact we are more gullible to commonalization more than rationalism. at best, we can cope with them, if we don't take anything to the extreme, and possess an ability to laugh at ourselves.
Peace @kyriacos!
I have two days a very sore tooth. I can't write much and long read. I wonder is it Luck or not?
depends what you are eating :)
Hi, that's a nice post, really liked and enjoyed it. Follow me! :)
One of your best posts (at least in my humble opinion). Loved it!
glad you like it mate.
Sure do!