4 ms·
Maybe there is a philosophical divide between us, but this argument sounds really weird to me. From his/her point of view, of course being born to educated par
by Al-Khwarizmi 9y ago
Maybe there is a philosophical divide between us, but this argument sounds really weird to me.
From his/her point of view, of course being born to educated parents is luck, if not what else is it? We don't have any choice or any influence on the matter of who we are born to, and we cannot change it with our effort or lack of it.
The fact that from their parents' point of view it's not luck, because they worked for it, strikes me as irrelevant in this context. It can be relevant in a societal context but the post you reply to was talking about the success of an individual and how it can come just by luck, without that individual working especially hard for it.
- slavik81 9y agoWhat isn't luck? I only am who I am today because of a combination of nature and nurture. My genes and my environment defined who I am. I had no control over either of those things. I mean, if I was born on Steve Job's birthday, with Steve Job's genes, to Steve Job's parents, presumably I would be Steve Jobs. From that perspective, it's pure luck I'm not a billionaire. And, similarly, pure luck that I'm not literally Hitler.
- andai 9y agoDo we make our own destiny, or does our destiny make us?
- jimnotgym 9y agoBoth, with some effort i could get good a poker. Some games I will lose no matter what because you can only play the hand you are dealt
- mch82 9y agoAnd you can only buy in with the money you have to start with. Everyone should experience losing to a worse player who won by starting with more chips and therefore had more hands and more opportunities to recover from error. Then they should experience a fixed buy in, no rebuy tournament where each player starts with equal opportunity.
- rayiner 9y ago> What isn't luck? Bingo!
- shaftoe 9y agoThis is fatalism and societies that adopt this attitude fall into some nasty traps. For example, there's no point to solving problems because it's the will of God.
- rayiner 9y agoIt's not fatalism. It's about recognizing that a more economically even society is warranted because people shouldn't get outsized credit (or be disproportionately punished) for things outside their control.
- shaftoe 9y agoReal life is complicated. Who decides what is in their control? What if it's a combination?
- sheepmullet 9y agoSociety gains incredible wealth from the desire to gain outsized credit for those we care about. Economic evening can quickly become a poison.
- verylittlemeat 9y agoIt seems like more of a philosophy of humility than fatalism.