blueswede

theory of luck distribution

So the other day, I went to the lab with one other guy from
my group for AI. We ran the experiments, and learned that,
contrary to our previous impressions, the lab report was due
next Friday, since the data discs wouldn't even be ready for
our use until Monday. As I predicted, my luck came through
in the end.

I've been developing a theory about luck, and this incident
only serves to strengthen it. I believe that each of us is
assigned roughly an equal amount of luck, and what we see as
"good" or "bad" luck is actually a function of how our luck
is distributed in life. Now there may be some exceptions to
this, such as people in incredibly good or incredibly fucked
situations, but I think for most people this would hold.

My luck, for instance, is lumped mainly in academics and the
like, with pretty minimal luck in other respects. Though I
suppose some of it must be distributed to my exercise. And
of course, my luck is fairly low in social matters. What's
really interesting is that this seems to pertain not just to
me, but to other people. For instance, some people are good
at academic matters, but they have bad luck (i.e. chemistry
labs getting screwed up, electronic failures, etc) with many
of their courses. A lot of the engineering students I know
seem to have this problem. But they compensate for it with
good fortune in other respects.

Now I'm not trying to attribute all triumphs and failures to
luck, but I do believe it must play a role. And I would say
that "bad luck" is more the result of luck distribution than
total quantity or quality of luck. The question now becomes
"How can I affect my luck distribution?" That I can't say,
and frankly I'm not sure it's even possible.

My theory of luck certainly isn't conclusive, but I think it
might provide some perspective. It works for me, though you
can't really gain notice for your ideas if they are totally
lacking in followers. Maybe I can spread the doctrine, who
knows. As long as it helps me, though, I consider it to be
a worthwhile belief.

Maybe there's a way to borrow luck from another location. I
could probably make sacrifices here and there to bolster one
of my lesser areas.

This is Dave, signing off.