Interesting read..
Originally shared by Chrisd Maskell
What is luck?
I watched the Derren Brown show last night about luck. If you did not see it, the idea was to conduct an experiment on a small town over 3 months. It was started by a reporter pretending to make a documentary on a “lucky” dog statue. Word began to spread and small bits of luck began to happen. Some of the chosen “victims” believed in luck, some did not. The non believer had no luck as a consequence. Opportunities were put literally under his nose but because he believed he was unlucky he either did not see them or did not bother.
The remarkable thing was that people actually had more good luck as a result of touching the dog, even the non believer came to believe by the end and bet his life savings on luck (he won).
This got me thinking; there was no foundation for the luck just belief initiated by a rumour, this reminded me of sports psychology; believe you are a winner, picture yourself crossing the line first.
I then thought of paralells with religion. People believe in a diety without proof of existance, yet this belief system appears to work for them.
I dont want to get into a theological argument here but the connecting point appears to be belief: believe you are lucky and you are.
This may be due to a positive outlook, selective memory, a willingness to take a chance, but it would appear that there is merit in the hypothesis.
So “do you feel lucky?”
0 responses to “Interesting read..”
In Christianity, luck is not an option. Though some Christians will say “good luck” it is out of their ignorance, lack has no meaning in Christianity.
Allan Registos Please don’t take the religious angle out of context here, I use it only as an example of belief rather than an example of luck. The issue is whether “Luck” exists or is purely a result of a particular view of life and situations.
I’d also point out how the “belief” in placebos can make them relieve symptoms without any active ingredients.
I love +Derren Brown. Completely. But, to me, this experiment was two things in one. Firstly, to show how a rumour can be started and then gain momentum until it becomes so huge it gains credence and acceptance as a truth, irrespective of whether or not there is anything behind it. And Derren’s previous shows demonstrate his scepticism on the subjects of fate, faith and luck. Secondly, Derren doesn’t do things to deliberately destroy people’s personal beliefs, or hurts them – quite the opposite! This show wasn’t as obvious as the one where he got that bloke to fly the plane, but the personal outcomes (for Wayne and many of the other villagers) was most definitely a positive one, and more than just winning £5k. Arguably, Wayne will now have a more positive outlook on life, take more chances and notice the more positive outcomes than the negative ones (and that is something that has been shown before to be the key differentiator between those who felt they were lucky and those who felt unlucky). In my mind, the die was rigged – but for good intent that wasn’t blatantly shouted about in this episode.
Chris Maskell Ok. I responded because of this: People believe in a diety without proof of existance
It is just pointless to argue anyway, theologically speaking.
Thanks for the correction…