Select to expand quoteFormulaNova said..
"Luck" is the same as arguing about "fate".
If you believe they exist, then it's problematic to argue that you are also an athiest.
A better term that I should use to describe myself is agnostic.
For an athiest luck is subjective. But there is randomness and skill. So if you combine randomness with skill it is likely you will have better outcomes by working hard.
Select to expand quotepsychojoe said..You do understand the phrase 'the harder I work, the luckier I get'? It relates nothing to luck and suggests that hard work actually creates the positive outcome.
Nope!
Working hard can establish a platform where luck is possible. Can't win a great contract without working hard to build a good business.
If you worked hard to build your company and reputation, then you won a big contract. Would you be offended if other companies said, "Gee, you were lucky".
I don't get all the existential discussion. Luck is just a term created by humans to describe unexpected good fortune. There's nothing mystical about it.
Select to expand quoteD3 said..
How about:
I don't believe our universe was created or shaped by an intelligence or entity
meh.
If I may be so bold as to suggest :
"I don't believe in your God".
That way you can be doubly offensive to the protagonist.
Select to expand quotemyscreenname said..
A better term that I should use to describe myself is agnostic.
Probably a good move, if only for the fact you can spell that one 
Select to expand quoteSubsonic said..
I don't get all the existential discussion. Luck is just a term created by humans to describe unexpected good fortune. There's nothing mystical about it.
argh. So you think good fortune is a thing but luck isn't.
How do fortune tellers actually measure and then predict fortune ?
Select to expand quoteSubsonic said..
I don't get all the existential discussion. Luck is just a term created by humans to describe unexpected good fortune. There's nothing mystical about it.
Why are you excluding bad luck?
Select to expand quotemyscreenname said..FormulaNova said..
"Luck" is the same as arguing about "fate".
If you believe they exist, then it's problematic to argue that you are also an athiest.
A better term that I should use to describe myself is agnostic.
For an athiest luck is subjective. But there is randomness and skill. So if you combine randomness with skill it is likely you will have better outcomes by working hard.
It's just semantics. Neither "luck" nor "good fortune" are anything more that a conventional way to express something agreeable and unexpected has occurred.
My woo meter is bouncing.
Select to expand quotemyscreenname said..FormulaNova said..
"Luck" is the same as arguing about "fate".
If you believe they exist, then it's problematic to argue that you are also an athiest.
A better term that I should use to describe myself is agnostic.
For an athiest luck is subjective. But there is randomness and skill. So if you combine randomness with skill it is likely you will have better outcomes by working hard.
I don't think we agree on the meaning of the term 'luck'. To me it is a random chance of something happen. To you it sounds like an effect that positively or negatively affects the outcome of something than it would otherwise be.
I suspect that "luck" is more an observation. Someone could have a crappy life, but live a long life with plenty of rewarding friendships, and call themselves "lucky". (I think I am channeling AB Facey).
Someone else could be born into a wealthy family, do okay at business, get into politics, get caught out paying hush money, and then call themselve unlucky.
Which one is lucky and which one is unlucky, or is it just a viewpoint?
I think the argument of everything being 'preordained' is a possible one if you believe that everything in this world is a function of what happened before it. It can neither change or be influenced. But this should affect whether you do something or not as that has been preordained also.
Select to expand quoteFormulaNova said..
I suspect that "luck" is more an observation.
I think we do agree.
You are more of an athiest while I'm more of an agnostic. I also thought of myself as an athiest until yesterday.
I think we are both lucky to be born in Australia.
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said..D3 said..
How about:
I don't believe our universe was created or shaped by an intelligence or entity
meh.
If I may be so bold as to suggest :
"I don't believe in your God".
That way you can be doubly offensive to the protagonist.
Maybe if I suggested who/what I believed in as all alternative, for the that extra salt?
Like any of the ancient religions or the FSM?
Select to expand quotemyscreenname said..FormulaNova said..
I suspect that "luck" is more an observation.
I think we do agree.
You are more of an athiest while I'm more of an agnostic. I also thought of myself as an athiest until yesterday.
I think we are both lucky to be born in Australia.
I remember reading of a self-made billionaire in the USA that was claiming it was all his own effort. The article then pointed out that without all the roads and other people, he would have had no chance.
I think some people like that ignore the realities of luck..
Select to expand quoteFormulaNova said..myscreenname said..
I think we do agree.
I think some people like that ignore the realities of luck..
You contradicted yourself also, you are an agnostic too.
I think we often refer to others as being lucky, but in fact they have seen an opportunity and taken advantage of it. Where the Unlucky person never even saw it
Select to expand quotemyscreenname said..FormulaNova said..myscreenname said..
I think we do agree.
I think some people like that ignore the realities of luck..
You contradicted yourself also, you are an agnostic too.
How did I contradict myself? I cannot see it.
Select to expand quoteFormulaNova said..
I suspect that "luck" is more an observation.
I think some people like that ignore the realities of luck..
Is luck a human construct, that depends on the observers opinion - or is it a reality?
I believe luck could and likely exists.
You are not sure and have had an each way bet.
Select to expand quotemyscreenname said..FormulaNova said..
I suspect that "luck" is more an observation.
I think some people like that ignore the realities of luck..
Is luck a human construct, that depends on the observers opinion - or is it a reality?
I believe luck could and likely exists.
You are not sure and have had an each way bet.
No, I think it is a construct of humans. Nothing more. People think they are lucky or unlucky but the way they think doesn't generally change the outcome.
While re-reading my post to FN, I realized that
reality is also a human construct.
I don't think I can be agnostic now. It was fun for a day, but its time for me to upgrade my belief system by saying I'm an Agnostic theisist.
I think it sits better with me. The inventor of colour TV was also one, so Im in good company.
If I lose my patio roof tonight, am I unlucky?
Or did I just not prepare well enough?
Select to expand quoteD3 said..
If I lose my patio roof tonight, am I unlucky?
Or did I just not prepare well enough?
I checked everything over yesterday and nothing seems to have happened overnight. The winds were not that strong and the rain wasn't particularly bad. I got 'lucky' as I am not sure any of my preparations could have prevented anything extreme.
Either that or the wind direction was wrong for where I live and unlike Wednesday there has been no affect.
I just checked online and it looks like there were quite a few areas nearby affected by power outages. I think it must have been the wind direction as I am shelted from winds from the north but very exposed to the south.
I prayed to no one, so I can rule that one out.
Select to expand quoteFormulaNova said.. >>>>I prayed to no one, so I can rule that one out.
Maybe, but could there be such a thing as subconscious praying?
After all what goes on downstairs is a bit of a mystery, and there could well be a better connection to him upstairs.
Maybe that's all luck is.
A better connection between upstairs and down stairs.
I'll have to think about bad luck, voodoo anybody?
Select to expand quoteD3 said..
If I lose my patio roof tonight, am I unlucky?
Or did I just not prepare well enough?
It's unlucky that you are experiencing a strong storm. If you lose your patio in it, its lucky, you didn't lose your whole house.
There's no such thing as luck it's all causes and conditions.
From the internet...
Is spinning heads in a coin toss lucky?
A physicist with too much time and resources on his hands can calculate with what force and spin a coin needs to be flipped or tossed in order to fall down with the same or opposite side up as its initial position.
The actual question of luck is how come a person relies on such prohibitively difficult to calculate physical equations in order to use their outcomes as some kind of guide in life.
Select to expand quoteFlying Dutchman said..
There's no such thing as luck it's all causes and conditions.
From the internet...
Is spinning heads in a coin toss lucky?
A physicist with too much time and resources on his hands can calculate with what force and spin a coin needs to be flipped or tossed in order to fall down with the same or opposite side up as its initial position.
The actual question of luck is how come a person relies on such prohibitively difficult to calculate physical equations in order to use their outcomes as some kind of guide in life.
Well, if it's just a calculation, I can ask the all knowing AI to calculate what the lotto numbers will be next week.
Should I let AI decide the Powerball or create my own luck with a power pick?
Select to expand quoteFlying Dutchman said..
There's no such thing as luck it's all causes and conditions.
From the internet...
Is spinning heads in a coin toss lucky?
A physicist with too much time and resources on his hands can calculate with what force and spin a coin needs to be flipped or tossed in order to fall down with the same or opposite side up as its initial position.
The actual question of luck is how come a person relies on such prohibitively difficult to calculate physical equations in order to use their outcomes as some kind of guide in life.
Well, if it's just a calculation, I can ask the all knowing AI to calculate what the lotto numbers will be next week.
Should I let AI decide the Powerball or create my own luck with a power pick?
Select to expand quotepsychojoe said..
Well, if it's just a calculation, I can ask the all knowing AI to calculate what the lotto numbers will be next week.
Should I let AI decide the Powerball or create my own luck with a power pick?
You have to first buy the ticket which is a cause and then it's up to probability.
I'm Lucky,
Yesterday 1st day of winter, the sun was shining, the wind was blowing, I didn't have a migraine and I got out for a sail.
How good is that!
I think neil tyson degrasse summed it up best
If god is all good & all powerful and we look around at the misery and suffering.
well the god cant be all good but if he is hes not all powerful so the definition of god is wrong or it doesn't exist
Select to expand quoteactiomax said..
I think neil tyson degrasse summed it up best
If god is all good & all powerful and we look around at the misery and suffering.
well the god cant be all good but if he is hes not all powerful so the definition of god is wrong or it doesn't exist
That's assuming the human concept of good is shared by God.
That's taking a big liberty assuming mere mortals can know the purpose of the universe.
It just proves a GOD that shares Mr Degrasse ideas of what he/it/she should be doing doesn't exist.
That's why I said you need to define GOD before you can prove it doesn't exist. And by definition you can't define GOD, so it's existence can't be proved or disproved.
Well if you want to define god like that I would think that is the grand unified theory that they are working on.
Bridging quantum mechanics with general relativity.
That way you can define god by the laws of the universe.
Once we understand them we might understand the purpose.
But god as its sold to humans is all good and all powerful.
There is no evidence that supports the sales pitch
Luck is just mathematical clusters they average out over time.
