In Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi’s opinion, his empirical research into the phenomenon otherwise known as luck has reaped no results. Tesla Patent Pending’s empirical research into the same phenomenon, on the other hand, has pointed very much towards the existence of the global conspiracy of luck.
And worst of all, it seems to be branded very much of the ‘bad’ variety. As much as I’d love to merely write that remark off as some cynical appraisal of a life filled with poor decisions—something that would be the logical and traceable result of cause and effect—alas, I cannot.
My immediate family has a collective history of being tainted by what I refer to as the family curse. If we had a dollar for every time something random went wrong with, for example, a new product purchase, we’d have a lot of dollars. What’s scarier is that we’d only have slightly less dollars for instances where those particular instances were met with the phrase, “Wow, this doesn’t usually happen.” or “I’ve never seen this happen before.” I wish I was joking.
To make the example more specific, for as long as I can remember my so-called luck with flights has been more off than on. I have the inside word that Virgin Blue, the once classless ‘cheapo’ airline, is currently running at 86 percent on-time performance. While this number is certainly impressive, my experience with them over more recent years has been that around 86 percent of my flights have been delayed (and yes, for those wondering, that also applies to my family as well).
A quick look at their on-time performance section of their website (http://www.virginblue.com.au/Personal/Flightinfo/Ontimeperformance/VirginBlueOnTimePerformance/index.htm) suggests that over the past 12 months, their average is 84 percent of on-time flights. While maths may not have been my strongest subject at high school, this does suggest that at least eight out of ten flights that I booked during that period should have been on time, right? This has simply not been the case.
I don’t hammer this point home to bash Virgin Blue but to illustrate the bizarre effects of luck in my life. Statistically speaking, I’m that lovely anomaly that you read about but nobody wants to be. Statistically speaking, it makes no logical sense that my flights with Virgin Blue are delayed more often than they’re on time.
I’ve given up trying to find some sort of method in life’s cosmic madness, but perhaps you readers might have some insights for me.
Does this sort of thing sound familiar to you, either personally or vicariously, or am I truly a unique and particularly unlucky snowflake?
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I am very unlucky, as is my family. Investments that are researched and solid and that work for our friends ensure that we fall deeply in debt.
Technology that we buy doesn’t work. My flat mate who is amazing at computers and stuff can’t believe it, he calls it the ‘ factor’. Its not as if i gaol break my stuff, or mod it or anything; i use everything as it was intended without any whacky things but it just stops working, for no reason, every god damn time.
I also love gambling, which is odd because where i can put 50 in the pokies and get literally no hits, my mate next to me who i tend to gamble with pulls out 800 (regular occurrence) You think i would cut and run but on the probability i have to win eventually, and that is what gambling is all about, but it really is quite exceptional that if I get 20 in blackjack 3 times in a row, the dealer will get 21.
I’ve had a similar issue with technology failing on me for no apparent reason - my car, my phone, my iPod, my XBox, my camera, my laptop… you name it - they have all had stupid inexplicable problems that were never truly satisfactorily resolved. I got the exact same phone as a friend of mine, who loved it and had no problems, but from day one, that phone failed me over and over. My car… always failing for no apparent reason - and then one day a mechanic tells me that this particular year model was the one that was no good because of some issue with parts. What were the odds of that?