4 ms·

That's mostly because luck is only one very small component. The years and years of hard work are much more important. Yeah you need to be "lucky" to find a goo

That's mostly because luck is only one very small component. The years and years of hard work are much more important. Yeah you need to be "lucky" to find a good opportunity - but everyone is lucky in that way, but most people do nothing about their opportunities.

mitchdoogle 4y ago
I saw a video explaining where if you attribute just 5% of outcomes to luck, then the people who have the best outcomes are among the luckiest people. It's hard to define just how much luck would matter in any given situation, but if you consider every aspect of our lives as part of luck, which I think is what people mean when they debate luck vs hard work, then I think it's a lot higher than 5% actually. That is, things like place/time of birth, parents, family, socioeconomic status at birth, schools, friends, teachers, health, timing of things, chance encounters - these things are all mostly outside of your control. Someone on hacker news might be thinking how they worked hard for years to learn software engineering, spent time networking, practiced interview questions, applied to several places, performed well in the interviews, and landed a lucrative job. And that's all part of hard work and it's often a necessary part of success. It doesn't feel like you lucked into anything. But the lucky part was mostly all the stuff I mentioned before - things that happened at birth, or things that happened because of others' actions. If you're born an affluent white American, for example, your luck meter is highly filled from the start. Then maybe at some point you had a teacher that helped you in a meaningful way, or you met a friend that influenced your decision making. And let's not forget there are people who are just as qualified, who study hard, practice, do all the same things, and they don't get the job. Maybe because the interviewer had a hangover, or maybe it was just someone else got in before them and wowed the interview team and made up their mind before seeing them. That's luck. I believe this is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LopI4YeC4I&vl=en https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LopI4YeC4I&vl=en
onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
So it's not luck being born in the US instead of North Korea? It's not luck being born without birth defects, being healthy, and still being alive to this day?
- Chris2048 4y ago
  Sure, but what % of the world falls into those categories? And do we include every unfertilized egg as another unlucky human?
  - drdeca 4y ago
    Maybe “No, but we do count fertilized eggs which fail to bum plant in the walls or whatever”?
- emteycz 4y ago
  North Korea is one of the very few places that you can't move away from, so I grant you that. All other people who can move freely around the world - yes, it was not luck, it was hard work. Moving into the US - or being born there - really doesn't make you successful, you'll find yourself grinding daily if you want some success. Actually, you may find it's much harder for you there than elsewhere (where you might find less outrageous success, but with much less hard work). > It's not luck being born without birth defects, being healthy, and still being alive to this day? Exactly, that's modern medicine - thank scientists, doctors, engineers and insurance bankers for their hard work. Gods and fate have zero part in it.

mitchdoogle 4y ago

I saw a video explaining where if you attribute just 5% of outcomes to luck, then the people who have the best outcomes are among the luckiest people. It's hard to define just how much luck would matter in any given situation, but if you consider every aspect of our lives as part of luck, which I think is what people mean when they debate luck vs hard work, then I think it's a lot higher than 5% actually. That is, things like place/time of birth, parents, family, socioeconomic status at birth, schools, friends, teachers, health, timing of things, chance encounters - these things are all mostly outside of your control. Someone on hacker news might be thinking how they worked hard for years to learn software engineering, spent time networking, practiced interview questions, applied to several places, performed well in the interviews, and landed a lucrative job. And that's all part of hard work and it's often a necessary part of success. It doesn't feel like you lucked into anything. But the lucky part was mostly all the stuff I mentioned before - things that happened at birth, or things that happened because of others' actions. If you're born an affluent white American, for example, your luck meter is highly filled from the start. Then maybe at some point you had a teacher that helped you in a meaningful way, or you met a friend that influenced your decision making. And let's not forget there are people who are just as qualified, who study hard, practice, do all the same things, and they don't get the job. Maybe because the interviewer had a hangover, or maybe it was just someone else got in before them and wowed the interview team and made up their mind before seeing them. That's luck. I believe this is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LopI4YeC4I&vl=en https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LopI4YeC4I&vl=en

onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago

So it's not luck being born in the US instead of North Korea? It's not luck being born without birth defects, being healthy, and still being alive to this day?

Chris2048 4y ago
Sure, but what % of the world falls into those categories? And do we include every unfertilized egg as another unlucky human?
- drdeca 4y ago
  Maybe “No, but we do count fertilized eggs which fail to bum plant in the walls or whatever”?
emteycz 4y ago
North Korea is one of the very few places that you can't move away from, so I grant you that. All other people who can move freely around the world - yes, it was not luck, it was hard work. Moving into the US - or being born there - really doesn't make you successful, you'll find yourself grinding daily if you want some success. Actually, you may find it's much harder for you there than elsewhere (where you might find less outrageous success, but with much less hard work). > It's not luck being born without birth defects, being healthy, and still being alive to this day? Exactly, that's modern medicine - thank scientists, doctors, engineers and insurance bankers for their hard work. Gods and fate have zero part in it.