"I got lucky today"
"Luck is not on my side"
"I wish I was that lucky"

All are expressions that we have heard and said many times. Luck is a word we use to describe the outcome of an event in comparison to our interest in it. If it goes our way, then we are lucky; otherwise, luck is not on our side.

What is luck? What is randomness?
We live among millions of other individuals each with our own desires, dreams and aspirations. We organize ourselves in small groups that are normally part of larger communities and that, in turn, are grouped under even larger communities. The dreams and actions of each member of such communities are part of the actions of all the other members. Actions collide, and some bend to others depending on multiple reasons. When those of the others thwart our actions, we feel unlucky, when our desires are achieved, we feel lucky.

To paraphrase an often-repeated clich: A butterfly batting its wings in China could lead to a hurricane in Louisiana. If I live in Louisiana, I will definitely feel unlucky being hit by a hurricane. I would never know which butterfly caused the hurricane and where. Hence, randomness comes into the picture.

Science tries to explain the basis of randomness. The more answers it provides, the more questions it generates. In the early stages of the existence of the human race, fire was a random event. We never knew when it erupted, how it spread and what caused it. Fire was a God. The randomness of fire was mostly tamed with science providing an understanding of the causes and the composition of fire.

Religion offers a different view of randomness. It points to our inability, as humans, to fully comprehend the universe and the forces working within it. Only God can understand and is the cause. Similar to Science, religion offers methods to prevent and combat fires. One relies on human action; the other relies on human prayer to precipitate a non-human action.

This is not an article about Science and Religion. Both offer an explanation of luck and randomness. We can choose either or come up with our own.

There are some events that are within our control. I can choose to clean my apartment or not. The randomness of the action is under my control. However, if I join million others in buying a lottery ticket, then the result is not under my control. Seemingly random rules will determine which numbers are selected. If such a rule happens to produce a number that matches the one produced by some "unknown" method in my brain, then I am lucky.

Perhaps in a few hundred years, we will discover all the rules that govern the seeming randomness of our existence. By then, we can predict and control the outcomes that are the result of the actions of all others as well as the interactions among all the "unknown" forces. Until then, let's enjoy the small things that we can control in our lives and be open to all the "uncontrollable" unknowns that cross the path of our journey and provide us with many pleasant surprises.

Learn more about this author, Finjy.
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