Do we believe that our fate is in the shuffling of the cards that we are dealt? Are we sitting at the poker table waiting for the right cards to fall into our hands, or is there some skill involved with playing the hands we are dealt?

Philosophical Engineering

Imagine yourself back in school, a teacher presenting topic A and topic B to you. For the exam, the teacher expects you to know both of these, but when the exam comes, topic A is only on the exam. So, if you were the unfortunate student who only learned topic B, you would fail, and on your transcript it would appear that you didn’t learn anything with that “F.”

That sounds a lot like luck, and so much worse for our educational system. Consider also the student who learned topic A and aced the test; he was lucky. But what about the next test? What if you learned both topic A and topic B? Then your “A” on your next test won’t just be luck.

There seems to be a difference between good luck and good skill in living our lives that goes beyond the guesswork of standardized testing. We can get lucky and win the lottery or guess right on the SATs for topic A or B to get a high score, but humans have a unique ability to guide their lives consciously. By developing our skills, we transcend mere luck and put ourselves in the best position to be “lucky” when the next test rolls around.