The Luck Factor

   

     Luck and superstition have always played important parts in the history of mankind. "Lucky charms, amulets, and talismans have been found in virtually all civilizations throughout recorded history," (Wiseman, 2003). However, how do people classify themselves as being really lucky or unlucky?  Some people might say they have a lucky life because they met their spouse by chance, or they are a successful business man, while others might say that they are unlucky because they have failing relationships and are accident-prone. However, due to a study performed by Wiseman, where he took over four hundred people and did personality tests, intelligence tests, and had them keep diaries (among other things), he found that not only do so called "lucky charms" have no effect on the person's life, he also concluded that people who consider themselves "lucky" are more likely to see opportunities and listen to their own intuitions, while the "unlucky" people cannot.
     This article basically gives me the scientific view and breakdown of superstition, as it being more of a psychological effect than anything else. The "luck" of a person has to do with the way the person views life, whether positive or negative. For example, if a person has a positive outlook towards life, they will see more opportunities that can arrive by chance, and will take them, while someone who has a negative outlook will most likely miss the opportunity simply because they did not see it. This gives me the scientific explanation of superstition, and how it has the effect of a person's life, but maybe not the way the general public views it today (or in the past). This article basically just says that superstition is simply the placebo effect, originating from the times when the people thought the events of one's life where from divine intervention.
    Have there been several other studies performed about this topic, and have they been conclusive? This article talks about one study, but if others were performed, would they have the same results?
 
Citation: Wiseman, Richard. "The Luck Factor." Skeptical Inquirer. May/June 2003: 26-30. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 15 Apr 2012.