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This article isn't wrong, but: > there are four levels to it: > 1. Blind luck: This is what most people mean when they talk about luck. Where you were born
by lucideer 4y ago
This article isn't wrong, but:
> there are four levels to it:
> 1. Blind luck: This is what most people mean when they talk about luck. Where you were born, who your parents are, winning a lottery… Totally random.
> 2. whatever
> 3. whatever
> 4. nonsense
Level 1 has an outsized influence insofar as: (a) it has significantly more impact than all of the others combined, and (b) it's compounding since it also influences one's ability to execute on #2 and #3 (#4 doesn't exist/make sense).
Don't get me wrong, #2 and #3 are worth pursuing if you can. But the tone of the article strongly downplays the impact of #1 which I think is net harmful.
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Speaking of the impact of #1, the article is also broadly about individualistic pursuit of "luck", rather than any consideration of how the impact of #1 could be mitigated in the broader context. This is a bit off-topic I guess, but seems worth mentioning when thinking about the net benefit/harm of an article from an ethical perspective.
Basically, bullet point #1 - ignored in the subsequent post content - is the elephant in the room here.
- potatoman22 4y agoYou can't affect the luck from point #1, it's completely random. The other forms of luck can be affected by an individual. Perhaps that's why the author doesn't emphasize random luck.
- ketzo 4y agoWell, it’s not discussed because it is 100% out of your control. This is an article about how to shape your actions and life to get luckier; nothing to do with blind luck will affect that.
- lucideer 4y agoI think you're missing my point - it's not about controlling it it's about addressing it.
- wincy 4y agoI like to tell people about how I worked hard to become a software engineer without a degree. But what I don’t normally mention is I lived in a house we owned outright (very low expenses), my workplace was down a developer at a small startup so my boss gave me coding tasks. At some point I got a random email from someone in my city asking me to do contract work. I’d randomly posted my resume on a job site months before (which has not happened since, in retrospect it was very strange). I also had a friend who was a dev, who coached me on how much money to ask for. This allowed me to save up enough money to quit my current job, spend a few months really learning to code, and start a new career. I could say all that stuff was just good thinking on my part but the contracting thing especially in retrospect is the dumbest of luck.