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richardhutnik on 04 April 2011
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Kasz216 said:
richardhutnik said:
Kasz216 said:

I can sum up your entire post there in one way.'

"Attributing a bunch of very real factors soley to luck... even though said factos have nothing to do with luck."


I mean "There are tons of inventors."

Yes.  There are,  there are very few inventors with good enough ideas to make them a bunch of money.  "Fortunate enough to get a patent."

I'd call that.... forsight to get a patent.

"Fortunate enough to invent something people want"

I'd call that... having the foresight to invent something people want, and solve a problem that's a problem.


"Fortunate enough to have the right buisness connections"

I'd call that.... making buisness connections.

 

None of that is luck. 


If I invent a machine that makes peoples cold beer immediatly luke warm, i'm not "unlucky because i inevented something nobody wanted". 

I was dumb for putting time and effort towards something nobody wants.

 

It's like making yourself morbidly obese on purpose, and then lamenting your luck that you don't live in an era where that is seen as attractive.

It's not luck, you just made a bad choice.

It is far easier to make bas choices than good ones.  However, here is a kicker:  Someone sets out to end up being a historically stupid failure in life, without killing themself.  Word about this gets out, and they become a media sensation, for reasons people can't foresee.  They end up selling merchandise and get rich off it, as they ride the fad, getting sponsorship deals.  In short, they are a glorified version of Amanda Black, with their own Friday.

And that is how things work.  However, to go the OTHER way, to be extremely wealthy, abnormally wealthy, requires a lot not in your control.


A) Amanda Black didn't go out of her way to be a failure

B) Amanda Black hasn't seen a dime from friday

C) Ark Music Factory, whose set up a buisness to fill the niche of "Rich white girls who want to be pop stars" did make a lot of money however, a WHOLE lot of money by setting up a youtube video and putting the song on Itunes.

D) It being a lot easier to make bad choices then good choices is proof it isn't luck.

E) Factors being out of your control =/= luck.  If you invent something nobody wants, that's out of your control,  It's not bad luck that nobody wanted it though.

How are factors not in your control not luck?  For a lack of something better, let's go to Wikipedia again:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luck

Luck or fortuity is good or bad fortune in life caused by accident or chance, and attributed by some to reasons of faith or superstition, which happens beyond a person's control.

Then consider randomness, which is what you might be thinking of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randomness

Having no definite aim or purpose; not sent or guided in a particular direction; made, done, occurring, etc., without method or conscious choice; haphazard.

I could argue that both are true with the case of extreme wealth, but more likely to be the former, where extreme wealth is largely due to factors not in the control of the person.  Would say that being totally random would be more likely to insure you DON'T end up with extreme wealth, to a place where it is statistically zero.  For my initial point to be valid, has to be shown that over 50% of the reasons why someone is or isn't extremely wealthy, is due to factors not in their control.  If it is, then my initial point is valid.  Same would go with fame today, by how fame works.  One can say that, in the past, fame was the benchmark of attributes someone had and deeds they did.  Now it is merely a matter of something going viral, and desired as an end result.