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Luck (also called fortunity) is a chance happening, or that which happens beyond a person's control. Luck can be good or bad.

Luck as lack of control

Luck refers to that which happens to a person beyond that person's control. This view incorporates phenomena that are chance happenings, a person's place of birth for example, but where there is no uncertainty involved, or where the uncertainty is irrelevant. Within this framework one can differentiate between three different types of Luck:

Constitutional luck, that is, luck with factors that cannot be changed. Place of birth and genetic constitution are typical examples.
Circumstantial luck, that is, luck with factors that are haphazardly brought on. Accidents and epidemics are typical examples.
Ignorance luck, that is, luck with factors one does not know about. Examples can be identified only in hindsight.

Luck as a fallacy

Another view holds that "luck is probability taken personally". A rationalist approach to luck includes the application of the rules of probability, and an avoidance of unscientific beliefs. The rationalist feels the belief in luck is a result of poor reasoning or wishful thinking. To a rationalist, a believer in luck commits the "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" logical fallacy, which argues that because two events are connected sequentially, they are connected causally as well:

A happens (luck-attracting event or action) and then B happens;
Therefore, A caused B.

In this particular perspective, probability is only affected by confirmed causal connections. A brick falling on a person walking below, therefore, is not a function of that person's luck, but is instead the result of a collection of understood (or explainable) occurrences. Statistically, every person walking near the building was just as likely to have the brick fall on them.

The gambler's fallacy and inverse gambler's fallacy both explain some reasoning problems in common beliefs in luck. They involve denying the unpredictability of random events: "I haven't rolled a seven all week, so I'll definitely roll one tonight".

Luck is merely an expression noting an extended period of noted outcomes, completely consistent with random walk probability theory. Wishing one "good luck" will not cause such an extended period, but it expresses positive feelings toward the one -- not necessarily wholly undesirable.

Luck as an essence

There is also a series of spiritual, or supernatural beliefs regarding fortune. These beliefs vary widely from one to another, but most agree that luck can be influenced through spiritual means by performing certain rituals or by avoiding certain circumstances.

One such activity is prayer, a religious practice in which this belief is particularly strong. Many cultures and religions worldwide place a strong emphasis on a person's ability to influence their fortune by ritualistic means, sometimes involving sacrifice, omens or spells. Others associate luck with a strong sense of superstition, that is, a belief that certain taboo or blessed actions will influence how fortune favors them for the future.

Luck can also be a belief in an organization of fortunate and unfortunate events. Luck is a form of superstition which is interpreted differently by different individuals. Carl Jung described synchronicity: the "temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events". He described coincidences as an effect of a collective unconscious.

Christian and Islamic religions believe in the will of a supreme being rather than luck as the primary influence in future events. The degrees of this Divine Providence vary greatly from one person to another; however, most acknowledge providence as at least a partial, if not complete influence on luck. These religions, in their early development, accommodated many traditional practices. Each, at different times, accepted omens and practiced forms of ritual sacrifice in order to divine the will of their supreme being or to influence divine favoritism. The concept of "Divine Grace" as it is described by believers closely resembles what is referred to as "luck" by others.

Mesoamerican religions, such as the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas, had particularly strong beliefs regarding the relationship between rituals and luck. In these cultures, human sacrifice (both of willing volunteers and captured enemies) was seen as a way to please the gods and earn favor for the city offering the sacrifice. The Mayans also believed in blood offerings, where men or women wanting to earn favor with the gods, to bring about good luck, would cut themselves and bleed on the gods' altar.

Many traditional African practices, such as voodoo and hoodoo, have a strong belief in superstition. Some of these religions include a belief that third parties can influence an individual's luck. Shamans and witches are both respected yet feared, based on their ability to cause good or bad fortune for those in villages near them.

Luck as a placebo

Some encourage the belief in fuck as a false idea, but which may produce positive thinking, and alter one's responses for the better. Others, like Jean Paul Sartre and Sigmund Freud, feel a belief in luck has more to do with a locus of control for events in one's life, and the subsequent escape from personal responsibility. According to this theory, one who ascribes their travails to "bad luck" will be found upon close examination to be living risky lifestyles.

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.

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. Numerology, as it relates to luck, is closer to an art than to a science, yet numerologists, astrologists or psychics may disagree. It is interrelated to astrology, and to some degree to parapsychology and spirituality and is based on converting virtually anything material into a pure number, using that number in an attempt to detect something meaningful about reality, and trying to predict or calculate the future based on lucky numbers. Numerology is folkloric by nature and started when humans first learned to count. Through human history it was, and still is, practiced by many cultures of the world from traditional fortunetelling to on-line psychic reading. There are many variations of numerology - most are based on the Chaldean System or the Pythagorean System. Latest modern methods such as Formalogy also are in use. Most are contemporary systems of advanced numerology and rely on leading principals of numerology and related mystical traditions observed by Ancestral Armenians, Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Persians, Hebrews, Greeks and Romans.

Luck in Religion

Judaism and Christianity

But you who forsake Yahweh, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune, and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny (Isaiah 65:11 - The bearing that this has on beliefs concerning luck is a matter of controversy)
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord (Book of Proverbs 16:33 NIV)
I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11 NIV)

External links

Luck, Destiny, Fate, Karma, or Self-Made? with psychologist Richard Wiseman
Lucky charms and superstition - Diligent Media Corp.
"Lucky": Documentary with Richard Wiseman transcript with link to 10 minute video.
http://www.allexperts.com/ep/3284-103382/Reincarnation/SUMIT-KUMAR-SIRKAR.htm
http://b-luckyalways.synthasite.com/

References

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{unreferenced|date=July 2007}}
 {{otheruses}}
+'''Luck''' (also called '''fortunity''') is a ''chance happening'', or ''that which happens beyond a person's control''. Luck can be good or bad.
-{{wiktionary|spic}}
+[[Image:Four-leaf clover.jpg|thumb|200px|A [[four-leaf clover]] is often considered to bestow good luck]]
+==Luck as lack of control==
-'''Spic''' is an [[ethnic slur]] used in English speaking countries for a person of [[Hispanic]] descent. "Spic" can be used both as a [[noun]] and an [[adjective]], and is even used at times as a name for the [[Spanish language]].
+Luck refers to that which happens to a person beyond that person's control. This view incorporates phenomena that are chance happenings, a person's place of birth for example, but where there is no uncertainty involved, or where the uncertainty is irrelevant. Within this framework one can differentiate between three different types of Luck:
+# Constitutional luck, that is, luck with factors that cannot be changed. Place of birth and genetic constitution are typical examples.
+# Circumstantial luck, that is, luck with factors that are haphazardly brought on. Accidents and epidemics are typical examples.
+# Ignorance luck, that is, luck with factors one does not know about. Examples can be identified only in [[Hindsight bias|hindsight]].
-==Early usage==
+==Luck as a fallacy==
+Another view holds that "luck is probability taken personally".
+A [[rationalist]] approach to luck includes the application of the rules of [[probability]], and an avoidance of [[scientific method|unscientific]] beliefs. The [[rationalism|rationalist]] feels the belief in luck is a result of poor reasoning or [[wishful thinking]]. To a rationalist, a believer in luck commits the "[[post hoc, ergo propter hoc]]" logical fallacy, which argues that because two events are connected sequentially, they are connected causally as well:
+<blockquote> ''A'' happens (luck-attracting event or action) and then ''B'' happens; <br>
+Therefore, ''A'' [[cause]]d ''B''. </blockquote>
+In this particular perspective, probability is only affected by confirmed causal connections. A brick falling on a person walking below, therefore, is not a function of that person's luck, but is instead the result of a collection of understood (or explainable) occurrences. [[statistics|Statistically]], every person walking near the building was just as likely to have the brick fall on them.
+The [[gambler's fallacy]] and [[inverse gambler's fallacy]] both explain some reasoning problems in common beliefs in luck. They involve denying the unpredictability of [[random]] events: "I haven't rolled a seven all week, so I'll definitely roll one tonight".
-The term was apparently initially used by Vianel Espinal of King's College during the 1904 [[United States|U.S.]] construction of the [[Panama Canal]].<ref name="TOW"/>
+Luck is merely an expression noting an extended period of noted outcomes, completely consistent with [[random walk]] probability theory. Wishing one "good luck" will not cause such an extended period, but it expresses positive feelings toward the one -- not necessarily wholly undesirable.
-In American literature, the word has been dated to around 1916, when its first known written usage was by Ernest Peixotto in ''Our Hispanic Southwest'', page 102. One of the first recorded usages of the word was in ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]],'' on [[September 17]] [[1919]], when it wrote: "The Marines had been [...] silencing the elusive 'spick' bandit in Santo Domingo". Its history before that time, however, is less certain. It was also used by [[William Faulkner]] in ''Knight's Gambit'' (1946), page 137, when he said: "I don't intend that a fortune-hunting ''Spick'' shall marry my mother." It was later used by [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] in ''Tender Is the Night'' (1934), page 275, although in dialog: "'He's a spic!' he said. He was frantic with jealousy."
+==Luck as an essence==
-==Etymology==
+There is also a series of [[Spiritualism|spiritual]], or [[supernatural]] beliefs regarding fortune. These beliefs vary widely from one to another, but most agree that luck can be influenced through spiritual means by performing certain [[ritual]]s or by avoiding certain circumstances.
+One such activity is [[prayer]], a religious practice in which this belief is particularly strong. Many cultures and religions worldwide place a strong emphasis on a person's ability to influence their fortune by [[ritual]]istic means, sometimes involving [[sacrifice]], [[omens]] or [[Spell (paranormal)|spells]]. Others associate luck with a strong sense of superstition, that is, a belief that certain taboo or blessed actions will influence how fortune favors them for the future.
-While the exact origin of the word isn't known, some Latin Americans in the United States believe that some of the Ethnic groups referred to Hispanic Americans using the word as play on their accented pronunciation of the English word "speak" (as in "No spic English").<ref name="SPIC">[http://kpearson.faculty.tcnj.edu/Dictionary/spic.htm Interactive Dictionary of Racial Language] Accessed [[April 12]] [[2007]]</ref><ref name="bartleby">[http://www.bartleby.com/61/53/S0635300.html The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language] Accessed [[April 12]] [[2007]]</ref><ref name="SANTIAGO">[Santiago, Esmeralda. When I Was Puerto Rican. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.]</ref>
+Luck can also be a [[belief]] in an organization of fortunate and unfortunate events. Luck is a form of [[superstition]] which is interpreted differently by different individuals.
-It may also derive from "spig", which was originally used to refer to Italians, in turn from "spiggoty" (sometimes spelled "spiggity", "spigotti", or "spigoty") which may derive from "spaghetti" or "no spika de Ingles".<ref name="OnED"/> The oldest known use of "spiggoty" is in 1910 by Wilbur Lawton in ''Boy Aviators in Nicaragua, or, In League with the Insurgents'', page 331. Stuart Berg Flexner in ''I hear America Talking'' (1976), favored the explanation that it derives from "no spik Ingles" (or "no spika de Ingles").<ref name="TOW"/>.  These theories follow standard naming practices, which include attacking people according to the foods they eat (see [[Kraut]] and [[List of ethnic slurs#Frog|Frog]]) and for their failure to speak a language (see [[Barbarian]] and [[Gringo]]).  A popular theory is that the word "spic" derives from the shortening of the word "[[Hispanic]]".<ref name="TOW"/>
+[[Carl Jung]] described [[synchronicity]]: the "temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events". He described [[coincidences]] as an effect of a [[collective unconscious]].
+[[Christian]] and [[Islam]]ic religions believe in the will of a supreme being rather than luck as the primary influence in future events. The degrees of this [[Divine Providence]] vary greatly from one person to another; however, most acknowledge providence as at least a partial, if not complete influence on luck. These religions, in their early development, accommodated many traditional practices. Each, at different times, accepted [[omen]]s and practiced forms of ritual [[sacrifice]] in order to divine the will of their supreme being or to influence divine favoritism. The concept of "[[Divine Grace]]" as it is described by believers closely resembles what is referred to as "luck" by others.
-A slur derived from "spic" is "spic and span" (first used in the African-American community in the 1950s) meaning a mixed Puerto Rican and African-American couple.<ref>Jonathon Green, "Spic and span", ''The Cassell Dictionary of Slang'' (1998) p. 390.</ref>  The phrase had legitimate currency at the time as the name of a cleaning product, "[[Spic and Span]]", before it was applied to mixed-heritage couples. This product is still sold under the same name.<ref name="sns">[http://www.spicnspan.com/ Spic n Span official website.]  Accessed [[January 16]] [[2007]].</ref>
+[[Mesoamerican]] religions, such as the [[Aztec|Aztecs]], [[Maya civilization|Mayans]] and [[Incas]], had particularly strong beliefs regarding the relationship between rituals and luck. In these cultures, human sacrifice (both of willing volunteers and captured enemies) was seen as a way to please the gods and earn favor for the city offering the sacrifice. The Mayans also believed in blood offerings, where men or women wanting to earn favor with the gods, to bring about good luck, would cut themselves and bleed on the gods' altar.
-The product took the name from a common phrase meaning extremely clean, "spick and span", which was a British [[idiom]] first recorded in 1579, and used in [[Samuel Pepys]]'s diary.  A spick was a spike or nail, a span was a very fresh wood chip, and thus the phrase meant clean and neat and all in place, as in being nailed down.  The "span" in the idiom also is part of "brand span new", now more commonly rendered "brand spanking new", and has nothing to do with the words "Spanish" or "Hispanic".<ref name="TOW">[http://takeourword.com/Issue045.html Take Our Word for It] [[June 21]] [[1999]], Issue 45 of etymology webzine.  Accessed [[January 16]] [[2007]].</ref><ref name="OnED">[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=s&p=35 Online Etymology Dictionary] detailing British phrase evolving from Dutch ''spiksplinter nieuw'', "spike-splinter new". Accessed [[January 16]] [[2007]].</ref>
+Many traditional [[African]] practices, such as [[West African Vodou|voodoo]] and [[Hoodoo (folk magic)|hoodoo]], have a strong belief in superstition. Some of these religions include a belief that third parties can influence an individual's luck. [[Shamanism|Shamans]] and [[Witchcraft|witches]] are both respected yet feared, based on their ability to cause good or bad fortune for those in villages near them.
-==References==
-===Footnotes===
-{{reflist}}
-===Other works consulted===
+==Luck as a placebo==
+Some encourage the belief in fuck as a [[placebo effect|false]] idea, but which may produce [[positive thinking]], and alter one's responses for the better. Others, like [[Jean Paul Sartre]] and [[Sigmund Freud]], feel a belief in luck has more to do with a [[locus of control]] for events in one's life, and the subsequent escape from personal responsibility. According to this theory, one who ascribes their travails to "bad luck" will be found upon close examination to be living [[risk]]y [[lifestyle]]s.
-*Hugh Rawson, "spic(k)" ''Wicked Words,'' (1989) p. 19.
-*John A. Simpson and Edmund S.C. Weiner, edd, "spic", ''The Oxford English Dictionary,'' 2nd ed. (1989)
+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]].
-==See also==
-*[[Anchor baby]]
+==Numerology==
-* [[Banana]]
+{{Main article|Numerology}}
-* [[Beaner]]
+Most cultures consider some [[numerology|numbers]] to be lucky or unlucky. This is found to be particularly strong in Asian cultures, where the obtaining of "lucky" [[telephone number]]s, automobile [[license plate]] numbers, and [[address (geography)|household addresses]] are actively sought, sometimes at great [[Money|monetary]] expense. [[Numerology]], as it relates to luck, is closer to an art than to a science, yet numerologists, astrologists or psychics may disagree. It is interrelated to [[astrology]], and to some degree to [[parapsychology]] and [[spirituality]] and is based on converting virtually anything material into a [[pure number]], using that number in an attempt to detect something meaningful about reality, and trying to predict or calculate the future based on lucky numbers. Numerology is [[folkloric]] by nature and started when humans first learned to count. Through human history it was, and still is, practiced by many cultures of the world from traditional fortunetelling to on-line psychic reading. There are many variations of numerology - most are based on the Chaldean System or the Pythagorean System. Latest modern methods such as Formalogy also are in use. Most are contemporary systems of advanced numerology and rely on leading principals of numerology and related mystical traditions observed by Ancestral Armenians, Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Persians, Hebrews, Greeks and Romans.
-* [[Chicano]]
-* [[Cholo]]
+==Luck in Religion==
-* [[Hispanic]]
-* [[Panchito]]
+===Judaism and Christianity===
-* [[List of ethnic slurs]]
-* [[Mestizo]]
+* But you who forsake [[Yahweh]], who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune, and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny ([[Isaiah]] 65:11 - The bearing that this has on beliefs concerning luck is a matter of controversy)
-* [[Nuyorican]]
+* The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord ([[Book of Proverbs]] 16:33 [[NIV]])
-* [[Pachuco]]
+* I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.  ([[Ecclesiastes]] 9:11 NIV)
-* [[Pink Panthers]]
-* [[Sudacas]](Racist term in Spain (Europe).
+==External links==
-* [[Vato]]
+{{wikiquote}}
-* [[Wetback]]
+*[http://www.fliptophead.com/blog/main/lucky.htm Luck, Destiny, Fate, Karma, or Self-Made?] with psychologist [[Richard Wiseman]]
+*[http://www.dnaindia.com/dnaprint.asp?newsid=1142462 Lucky charms and superstition] - Diligent Media Corp.
+*[http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2220191.htm "Lucky": Documentary with Richard Wiseman] transcript with link to 10 minute video.
+*http://www.allexperts.com/ep/3284-103382/Reincarnation/SUMIT-KUMAR-SIRKAR.htm
+*http://b-luckyalways.synthasite.com/
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
-[[Category:Ethnic and religious slurs]]
+[[Category:Luck| ]]
-[[simple:Spic]]
+[[ar:حظ]]
+[[da:Held]]
+[[es:Suerte]]
+[[eo:Bonŝanco]]
+[[fr:Chance]]
+[[io:Fortuno]]
+[[he:מזל]]
+[[lv:Veiksme]]
+[[lt:Sėkmė]]
+[[nl:Geluk (kans)]]
+[[ja:運]]
+[[no:Flaks]]
+[[pt:Sorte]]
+[[ro:Noroc]]
+[[qu:Sami]]
+[[ru:Удача]]
+[[scn:Furtuna]]
+[[simple:Luck]]
+[[fi:Onni]]
+[[sv:Tur]]