Luck: From Fortuna and Talismans to Probability, Psychology and Decisions

~From Fortuna and Talismans to Probability, Psychology and Decisions~

Series “От Фортуны и талисманов до вероятности, психологии и решений”

Series “In Twelve Evenings” Book 17

Vita Harwood

Test your knowledge!

What does it really mean to be lucky?

Is luck simply randomness? Is it preparation meeting opportunity? Why can one fortunate break create another, while one serious setback can narrow the choices that follow? And why is the human mind so eager to see patterns, signs and destiny where statistics may be enough?

Luck: What Do I Already Know About This? is a twelve-lesson popular-science course for curious readers aged 15 and up. It brings together psychology, probability, sociology, career research, economics and risk management to examine luck without turning it into either magic or cynicism.

Across twelve evenings, you will explore the illusion of control, survivorship bias, outcome bias, repeated attempts, weak ties, planned happenstance, cumulative advantage, the hot-hand debate, regression to the mean, diversification and the difference between control, influence and external randomness.

You will also look at the cultural history of luck, from Fortuna and talismans to modern ideas about manifestation and “vibrations”, while keeping a clear boundary between personal meaning and evidence for external causal effects.

This is not a book that promises to make the Universe work for you. It offers something more useful: a way to think more clearly about uncertainty, make better decisions with incomplete information, recognise genuine opportunities and avoid risking everything on a single outcome.