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This article is about good and bad fortune. There is also: Luck, Volhynia, a town in Ukraine, and Luck, Wisconsin, a village in the USA.

Luck is the chance happening of fortunate or adverse events. Luck may also be explained in the rationalistic terms of probability, such that an individual has nothing to do with his or her luckiness or unluckiness.

Rational viewpoint

As related to the occurrences of actual events considered to be of low probability in a mathematical or statistical sense. A rationalist approach would lead to the conclusion that such matters as whether or not someone bore a victim ill will would have no bearing upon (for example) that person being hit by a loose brick falling from a decrepit building. It was only due to a remote statistical probability that a person happened to be walking past when a brick fell. In a case like this, both rationalists and spiritualists would likely say that the victim was unlucky. In an example of good luck, a person winning a lottery would generally be considered lucky, although a rationalist might point out that there was bound to be a winner sooner or later, and there was actually nothing lucky about someone winning - it was merely a probabilistic event. It is doubtful that the winner would agree with that analysis, however.

An alternative rationalist approach to luck is to contrast it with control. Luck is what happens that is beyond your control. One advantage with this view is that it incorporates phenomena that obviously bear on luck, your place of birth for example, but where there is no uncertainty involved, or where the uncertainty is irrelevant, and where a probabilistic understanding of luck therefore is out of place. Within this framework one can differentiate between three different types of luck: 1) Constitutional luck, that is, luck with factors you cannot control because they cannot be changed. Place of birth and genetic constitution are typical examples. 2) Circumstantial luck, that is, luck with factors you cannot control because they are brought on you. Accidents and epidemics are typical examples. 3) Consequential luck, that is, luck with factors you cannot control because they are a capricious result of your actions. A typical example would be whether you hit someone if your car crashes through a thick hedge. Whether or not there is someone behind the hedge will determine what you have in fact done, although it is completely beyond your control. It is a matter of luck.

Spiritual viewpoint

There is also sometimes considered to be a spiritual, metaphysical, or supernatural bias towards experiencing events of good or ill fortune. In this sense some believe that one's own or another's good or bad luck can be influenced through spiritual means or by performing certain rituals or by avoiding certain (from a rational viewpoint non-relevant) situations. Prayer is a religious practice in which this belief is particularly strong, although many cultures worldwide place a strong emphasis on a person's ability to influence their luckiness by ritualistic means. Prayer and rituals that pre-date or are independent of Judeo-Christian religions are considered traditional or folk relgions, and are associated with luck in the sense of superstition. Modern religions believe in the will of a supreme being rather than luck as influencing events. However, most modern religions in their early development accommodated traditional folk practices. Many of these practices and icons are now thought of as fully Judeo-Christian, and Judeo-Christians wish each other good luck as often as they say "God bless you".

In their original forms, the folk religions view mind, spirit and body as one. They often involve proper respect for spirits, believed to inhabit a location prior to human occupation. In some cultures, if one builds a house on a property it is respectful to provide a small spirit house for their habitation. In other cultures, a building may be interrupted by a passageway to allow the flow of spiritual energy - the location being determined by an expert in such matters. In such cultures, ignoring such matters is believed to lead to misfortune - bad luck. In this context, there is also the concept of "purpose" to events ascribed to luck, good or bad.

The spiritual-physical healing practices of Native American, African, Celtic and European folklore also include ways to influence luck or good fortune.

Effects of viewpoint and beliefs

The belief in luck as a supernatural phenomenon is generally regarded by rationalists as a form of magical thinking. However, there is evidence that people who believe themselves to have good luck are more able to take advantage of fortunate chance events in their lives, and to compensate for unfortunate chance events in their lives, than people who believe that they have bad luck. This appears to be the result of positive thinking altering their responses to these events. A belief in luck can also indicate a belief in an external locus of control for events in their life, and so escape from personal responsibility.

Some philosophers argue that we each "create our own reality", literally and not metaphorically, and in that context what appears to be good luck can be interpreted as having beliefs that encourage or create what are putatively good outcomes.

Risky lifestyles

Often those who ascribe their travails to "bad luck" will be found upon close examination to be living risky lifestyles. For example: a drunk driver may ascribe their arrest to the bad luck of being observed by a patrolman, or the bad luck of being involved in a traffic accident (perhaps not even the victim's fault), as a way of avoiding personal responsibility for their actions.

Positive outlook

On the other hand, people who consider themselves "lucky" in having good health may be actually reaping the benefits of a cheerful outlook and satisfying social relationships, both of which are well known statistically to be protective against many stress-related diseases.

Effects

If "good" and "bad" events occur at random to everyone, believers in good luck will experience a net gain in their fortunes, and vice versa for believers in bad luck. This is clearly likely to be self-reinforcing. Thus, although untrue, a belief in good luck may actually be an adaptive meme.

The gambler's fallacy and inverse gambler's fallacy are both related to belief in luck.

Numerology

Most cultures consider some numbers to be lucky or unlucky. This is found to be particularly strong in Asian cultures, where the obtaining of "lucky" telephone numbers, automobile license plate numbers, and household addresses are actively sought, sometimes at great monetary expense.

Sayings

Popular sayings and quotations related to luck:

  • "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity" - Seneca, Roman Dramatist
  • "Fortes fortuna adiuvat" (Fortune favors the brave) - Latin proverb
  • "You make your own luck" -
  • "When it rains, it pours" - this is an expression of the mathematical property of statistically independent events that bunch together.
  • "Bad things happen in threes" - see above
  • "Luck is the residue of design" - Branch Rickey
  • When something happens by "sheer dumb luck", it is considered to have happened unintentionally and without planning.
  • "Luck doesn't exist." There are more variations on this phrase than can be listed here, but not enough to make believers care.
  • "Luck be a lady tonight" -- song from the musical "Guys and Dolls"
  • A famous Samuel Goldwyn quote sums up the rationalist view: "The harder I work, the luckier I get". Or an equally famous Gary Player quote "The harder I practice, the luckier I get".
  • Knocking on wood, spoken expression used as a charm to bring good luck. In medieval times, it was believed that there were spirits living in the trees. You would "knock on wood" for the spirits to protect you from bad luck.
  • "In my experience, there's no such thing as luck" - Obi-Wan Kenobi.
  • "Luck can only get you so far" by Hermione, referring to a "luck potion Felix Felicis" in Harry Potter (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
  • "Luck of the Irish"
  • "getting lucky" - euphemism for (a man) having sex (implied to be statistically improbable)
  • "Find a penny, pick it up. All day long, you'll have good luck!"
  • "Its better to be lucky than good!!"
  • "It's smarter to be lucky than it's lucky to be smart." - King Charles from the stage musical Pippin
  • "Luck favors the prepared, darling." Edna Mode in Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles
  • "Luck is for those who don't think they can make a difference in life." Yank
  • "God does not play dice with the universe" Albert Einstein

Luck in Scripture

  • The bearing Isaiah 65:11 has on beliefs concerning luck is a matter of controversy.

Items or events

Several items or happenings are considered lucky or unlucky.

Lucky

Unlucky

  • Friday the 13th.
  • The number 13 (Many buildings skipped 13 when numbering their floors for this reason)
  • Black cat crossing your path
  • Stepping on a crack (it breaks the back of the stepper's mother)
  • Breaking a mirror (seven years bad luck)
  • Spilling over salt (but you can get rid of the bad luck by throwing the salt over your left shoulder, supposedly the devil sits there. It is also said to be unlucky if you throw salt over your right shoulder, since supposedly an angel sits there).
  • Putting a hat on a bed
  • Opening an umbrella indoors
  • Killing a ladybug (ladybird in Commonwealth English)
  • Walking underneath a ladder (when being hanged, the condemned man would often be made to pass underneath a ladder before climbing it and onto the gallows)
  • saying "good luck"
  • replying "thank you" to someone wishing you good luck
  • picking up a penny face-down (can be avoided by giving the penny away).
  • putting shoes on a table. In the UK, this is considered to bring extremely bad luck, traditionally the death of a person in the house. This is sometimes specified to only be unlucky when new shoes are put on a table (probably causing a few less deaths!)
  • In the British Navy it was traditionally considered unlucky to have a woman on board ship.
  • Among sailors it is considered unlucky to kill an albatross or a porpoise.
  • Among sailors it is considered bad luck to have anything blue aboard.
  • Saying "good luck" to an actor going onstage (preferred: "Break a leg;" see above, under "lucky")
  • In theaters, "Macbeth" must not be uttered by anyone unless it is necessary to the show (i.e. the company is performing Shakespeare's Macbeth); instead, one says "the Scottish Play."
  • sinistrality - being left-handed.

Luck in fiction

  • In L. Frank Baum's The Patchwork Girl of Oz, a boy named Ojo discovers that he is known as "the Unlucky," but through the intervention of friends he makes over the course of the story he becomes Ojo "the Lucky" instead.
  • Gladstone Gander, a fictional cartoon character, is dependent solely upon his good luck.
  • Joe Btfsplk, a character in the Li'l Abner (Little Abner) comic strip by the cartoonist Al Capp is not only unlucky, he is shunned by the other characters as they suspect (with good reason) that this bad luck may be infectious.
  • In Larry Niven's novel Ringworld, the character Teela Brown was the incredibly lucky result of a centuries-long breeding program initiated by the alien Pierson's Puppeteers directed to just such an outcome. The consequence of her state was that she'd led such a charmed and worry-free life that she was emotionally immature and unprepared for "harsh reality."
  • In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, luck is an anthropomorphic personification known as the Lady, who, while not a goddess, is powerful enough to be the rival of the god Fate.
  • Eugene Horowitz from Hey Arnold is known for the bad luck he constantly has, though his optimism always makes his personality win over it.
  • Felix Felicis, a potion in the Harry Potter books, gives its drinker good luck.
  • Furrball the cat in Tiny Toon Adventures is a perpetually unfortunate feline, forever suffering mishaps, though frequently it's his own actions (i.e. overwhelming greed) that get him into trouble (not unlike mentor Sylvester the cat).
  • In the Red Dwarf episode Quarantine a 'luck virus' existed.
  • Fortune (or "Lady Luck"), a character in the video game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, is implied to have extraordinarily good luck which apparently causes bullets to swerve away from her.
  • Good Luck Bear, a character from the popular Care Bear TV Series and line of toys has is known almost entirely for his amazing luck. He is always the right man for the job no matter what that job may be, because with his luck, failure is quite a rarity (now that I think about it.. can anyone name a time that he didn't end up on top?). His mission as a Care Bear is to spread his namesake, good luck to all of those around him and he does so quite well. The 4 leaf-clover clover on his tummy says it all!
  • Milfeulle Sakuraba of Galaxy Angel brims with such luck that she is repeatedly thrown out of casinos because she wins all the time, she finds winning lottery tickets on the ground, and can survive any ilk of danger because of her good fortune.
  • Huckleberry Finn-- killing a spider or handling a snakeskin bring bad luck.
  • Match Point by Woody Allen contains elements illustrating the importance of luck like a let in tennis.
  • Althalus of David Eddings' The Redemption of Althalus is known as the world's luckiest thief. He perceives his luck to be in love with him, and associates it with a feeling he gets when he has been in any place for too long (ie. long enough for a bounty to be placed on his head).

Songs about luck

See also

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