3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on the Art of Being Lucky
3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on the Art of Being Lucky
The Luck Factor, Opportunity & the Buttered Cat Paradox
I. The Luck Factor
Are some people luckier than others? Over the course of 10 years, experimental psychologist Richard Wiseman studied the nature of luck. He found that people considered to be lucky share a number of qualities:
Lucky people generate their own good fortune via four basic principles. They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.
Can you learn how to be lucky? Given that some people appear to be luckier than others, Wiseman set up a Luck School. He taught people the four principles of luck — with surprising outcomes:
The results were dramatic. Eighty percent of people were now happier, more satisfied with their lives, and, perhaps most important of all, luckier. Unlucky people had become lucky, and lucky people had become even luckier. […]
After ten years of scientific research my work has revealed a radically new way of looking at luck and the vital role that plays in our lives. It demonstrates that much of the good and bad fortune we encounter is a result of our thoughts and behavior. More important, it represents the potential for change, and has produced that most elusive of holy grails — an effective way of increasing the luck people experience in their daily lives.
Source: Richard Wiseman, The Luck Factor
On a similar note, I’ve previously written about Black Swans, unexpected high-impact events that may appear like bad luck.
II. Opportunity
Roman Stoic philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger on luck:
Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.
—Seneca
III. The Buttered Cat Paradox
The Buttered Cat is a faux paradox based on two well-known principles:
Cats always land on their feet.
Toast always lands on the buttered side.
According to its creator, John Frazee, the real question here is — of course — what would happen if you strapped a buttered toast to a cat and threw it off the table?
Frazee concocted the thought experiment in 1993 and won the GRAND PRIZE in a magazine’s “I have a theory” competition. He suggested the following outcome:
The two will hover, spinning, inches above the ground. With a giant buttered cat array, a high-speed monorail could easily link New York with Chicago.
Source: OMNI Magazine
If you’re interested in more paradoxes, read my post on 7+1 Paradoxical Examples of Mind-Bending Contradictions. 🐘
Have a great week,
Chris
themindcollection.com
P.S.: Check out my latest post on The Mind Collection Model: How to Explore the Known Unknowns.