When first registering for the Bad Astronomy board, I decided on a username that was an anagram of my real name. Luckmeister was my choice because I tire of people using good or bad luck as the sole reason for occurrences. That name implies that I make my own luck, which I feel is often true. My position is that what is frequently called good luck is actually the result of knowledge, preparation and availability (being at the right place at the right time).
Case in point: A few years ago, I was at a local swap meet (flea market) when someone asked me if I had seen a nice telescope for sale. I said I had just got there and hadn't. A woman at the booth he described told me she had sold the telescope a few minutes before. I missed buying a $1000 scope for $125. When I showed frustration to a friend there at missing the deal, he said, "Gee, what bad luck. It just wasn't meant to be. You'll find one when the time is right."
No, the reason I missed out was because upon awakening, I reset my alarm to get another half hour's sleep instead of being at the swap meet when it opened, as I had originally planned. That's why I missed the deal. It was not just misapplying the term "luck" but was also assigning the concept of "fate" to the situation, which I find especially repugnant.
But here's the follow-up: When I mentioned to the Deputy Sheriff who regularly patrolled the swap meet about missing the deal he said, "Oh don't worry, I have a feeling you'll get a telescope." The next day, I returned and he motioned me over to his patrol car. The back seat was filled with an 8" Meade Starfinder scope, which he had brought to give me as a gift. He said his son had just left to start college and had no room for it in his dorm room. He called him and the kid said to just give it to me. I was blown away!! I used it to take the Moon photos on my Space Website two weeks later.
When I told my friend about it he said, "See, I said you'd find one when it was meant to be." I could only smile at that.
Mike
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Originally Posted by Luckmeister
, to imagine some external 'fate' directing one's actions.... Of course, we are subject to the physical laws: You jump off a building, you are fated to hit the ground hard. But striking up a conversation with the regular deputy at the swap meet? That's somewhat impervious to physical law, or fate. Such things are up for our choosing. That was good luck there, meister. ;^)
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