While winding up a conversation recently in a pub, the person wished me luck before taking leave. And being socially awkward, sat about on my own with a pint thinking about "luck" and "chance". Are the ones that are lucky really “lucky”, what does it mean. Can we effect it, or further make it? What really is the physics behind.
The concept of serendipity and luck might be beyond our grasp, and trying to make sense of it would feel like playing jenga with some oven mitts. As much as it is inexplicable, it is tangible.
Scientifically, it is just the probability of a certain outcome which is either associated with good luck or bad luck. For instance, if we toss a fair coin, the probability of getting heads or tails is 50%. If we get heads, some people might say that we were lucky, whereas if we get tails, we might say we were unlucky. However, from a physical point of view, the outcome was not a result of luck, but rather a probabilistic outcome determined by the physical properties of the coin and the way it was tossed. So let's go seize that coin, it is up to us to make our luck happen.
In the quantum world, probabilities and chance play a central role in the behavior of particles and their interactions. Even within apparent randomness in chaotic complex systems there are patterns, repetitions, interconnections, organisation, loops - and all of them are deterministic (to a large extent) from the initial conditions of that randomness. Luck is indeed random within the chaotic complex world, but if we had the preparation, and we position ourselves to create the optimum conditions, we increase the probability of luck happening.
Are successful people just luckier? Or do they instill conditions for the prospect of random lucky events occurring for them.
Luck is not binary to either have it or not. Preparation, mental and physical well-being, asking for help and helping, putting yourself out there to create the conditions for coincidence are all important factors that can increase luck. When it comes to preparation, it is like measuring the position and momentum of a quantum particle before it interacts with its environment. The more information we have about the situation and the better we plan, the more we increase the surface area of probability of
Similarly, focusing on our mental and physical well-being can be seen as reducing the uncertainty or "noise" in the system. Just like in quantum mechanics, where external factors can cause interference and disrupt the behavior of particles, stress and lack of sleep can decrease our chances of success. By reducing the noise, we can increase our chances of success and improve our overall well-being.
Seeking out help and building relationships can be compared to the concept of entanglement in quantum mechanics. When particles interact and become entangled, they can influence each other's behavior even when separated by large distances. Similarly, building relationships and fostering connections can lead to opportunities that can increase our luck and lead to success.
Finally, put yourself out there, make it easy for luck to find, increase the footprint surface area to make it more probabilistic to coincide with the randomness
In conclusion, luck is not just a matter of chance, but rather a complex interplay of preparation, mental and physical well-being, and forming a network of help. By taking action to influence these factors, we can increase our chances of success and improve our overall quality of life. Just like in quantum mechanics, where small changes in the environment can lead to large changes in the outcome, our everyday actions and decisions can have a significant impact on our luck and success. So go get you some of that good luck and fortune.