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Luck

One White Bit (See also miracles and other keywords)
One White Bit
One White Bit Noun Dice 1732183

Superstition

  • Traditionally, luck has been assumed to derive wholly from God or fate, rather than from human agency.
  • The idea that humans can manipulate 'luck' may be dismissed as 'mere' superstition.
  • For this reason, not everybody believes that luck can be designed into the equation.
  • However, research shows that people become luckier by acquiring a more 'positive', or optimistic attitude.
  • The modern belief system became increasingly sceptical and rationalistic after the Enlightenment era.

Disenchantment

  • Max Weber's (1946) term 'disenchantment' refers to a habitual, cynical retreat from the inexplicable.
  • Modern cynicism has encouraged a conflation between the terms ‘unthinkable’ and ‘impossible’.
  • If we believe that the unthinkable is synonymous with the impossible, we reduce what is feasible.
  • How can we apply serendipity within the learning process?

The possible unthinkable

  • Modern cynicism has encouraged the common confusion between the ‘unthinkable’ and the ‘impossible’.
  • But if we believe the unthinkable is synonymous with the impossible, we reduce our option range.
  • This means encouraging everyone to think beyond what they believe to be possible.
  • Once something is thinkable we can map it into a larger picture of possibilities
  • The more the 'thinkable' is declared to be feasible the more attainable it becomes
  • Once the ‘impossible’ is described clearly it becomes ‘shareable’
  • If the 'impossible' is described affirmatively, the ‘unthinkable’ becomes (more) ‘thinkable’
  • By combining several positive minds in sympoiesis enables us to discover new possibilities.
    • Rupert Sheldrake (1981) controversiallydeveloped a particular theory of Morphogenetic_fields
      This includes the idea that unprecedented incidents may act as 'feedback' to encourage a change in the prevailing ecological conditions
    • If so, we may become more likely to live in a world of serendipity
    • We know that some things, once thought to be impracticable, or unthinkable are now seen as unremarkable
    • In some cases this is the result of technological innovation and widening access to them
  • This probably happens most effectively when excitement surrounding an idea makes it memorable and shareable
  • 2) Put several positive minds together in collaborative synergy to find something 'impossible'.
  • Ask whether the 'impossible' still has remained 'impossible' within the minds of team members.
  • Develop a strategy for making what was 'impossible' even more 'possible' than it seemed to be.

Bibliography

  • Diaconis, P. and Mosteller, F., (1989). 'Methods of Studying Coincidences', J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 84, 853-861
  • Littlewood, J. E. (1953). 'Littlewood's Miscellany', Cambridge University Press, 1986
  • Sheldrake, R. (1981), 'A New Science of Life',
  • Sloterdijk, P., (1983), 'A Critique of Cynical Reason',
  • Use standard deviation as possible measurement
  • Surowiecki, J., (2004), 'The Wisdom of Crowds',
  • Taleb, N. N. 'The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable' 2007. New York: Random House
  • Weber, M, (1946). 'Essays in Sociology', trans. and ed. by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, New York: Oxford University Press
  • Wikipedia entry for Edward Lorenz
  • Wiseman, R. (2003). 'The Luck Factor', London, UK: Random House
  • Wiseman, R. (2004). 'Did you spot the gorilla? How to recognise hidden opportunities in your life'. London, UK: Random House
  • Wood, J., (2005), “How Can We Design Miracles?”, introduction to “Agents of Change: A Decade of MA Design Futures”, pages 10-14, (June 1, 2005), Goldsmiths College, (Hardback), ISBN 1904158617

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