Superstition and Believing in Luck.

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Permalink Reply by Ronin on August 1, 2011 at 12:31pm

When I wish someone "Good Luck" it's more of a have good fortune or I'm pulling for you. Perhaps "may the cosmos smile upon you" would be apropos. Just a show of support nothing more nothing less.

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Permalink Reply by Atheist Andrea on August 2, 2011 at 9:35pm

Nicely stated, Ronin. Nothing technical, just a nice phrase that warms the heart.  :)

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Permalink Reply by Jarred Lee Woods on August 2, 2011 at 9:50pm

I have found that phrases such as, "good luck", are just a part of common sayings being ingrained into our every day speach. Hell. . ..I say "goddamnit" a lot despite the fact that I don't have a belief in God. It's along the same lines as saying, "bless you" to some one who has just sneezed; just something we say. I bought a book awhile back that was about the history and origins of the common phrases and words in our modern language and how a lot of the every day things we say actually have religious origins.(wish I could remember the author) Very facinating though. Good topic to bring up btw. . .gets my gears-a-turnin'!!

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Permalink Reply by Brian Wood on August 3, 2011 at 9:40am

Strangely, for a depressive, I realize (cognitively) that I have been extremely "lucky" all my life.  Good parents, good public education, good college, job I loved......  I mean I did some work, but, starting with that particular sperm hitting that particular egg on that particular month (going back thousands of generations), I've been lucky.

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Permalink Reply by Atheist Andrea on August 3, 2011 at 11:06pm

You can thank your dad for letting the best sperm win and consider it "lucky" that your mom's prime egg was released in that same time frame.  You were given the right combination to the lock. 

Considering my lineage, it's amazing I can even string words together to make a sentence (sorry Mom and Dad)!   :)

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Permalink Reply by Rudy Ruddell on August 4, 2011 at 2:04am

So, really, luck is just how well a particular being faired in the game of chance.
We could not say the world was lucky I was born, just that I was lucky I was born. In this case, luck is just a statement of amazement that, for once, chance went in my favor. When you consider luck in the same way a gambler views luck, you are making a statement about probability. If you wish someone good luck, you are implying that you or someone or something can control the outcome. Really, when you wish someone good luck, you are just saying, "I will be happy for you if chance happens to your advantage, "

although, I admit that does not sound as supportive as good luck.

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