3 Comments

Your piece reminded me of a quote by Robert A. Heinlein - “There is no such thing as luck. There is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe.”

Made me chuckled because the quote also reminded me of the book “The Secret” - the book that became such a boom when it first introduced the concept of law of attraction. Basically saying, your thoughts create your reality.

The book “The Alchemist” also has the same theme. “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

But the most relatable explanation I came across was from this talk between Daniel Schmachtenberger, John Vervaeke and Iain McGilchrist - “your attention changes how you perceive the world”. And that instantly clicked for me.

Expand full comment
author
Mar 24·edited Mar 24Author

Ahh "The secret", thanks for connecting the dots! I think the point Tim Minchin makes is a bit different, I hear it not so much as "want something and the universe will conspire", but rather "relax a bit about what you think you want, and you may notice something even better" 💫

Expand full comment

Sorry I didn't make it clear in my previous message but I was coming from a different angle that "there's no such thing as luck in a statistical universe" - only your preparation to either capitalise on opportunities or mitigate risks. Kinda along the line of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's "Infinite Improbability Drive" and its portrayal of the randomness and absurdity of the universe.

I understand where your sentiment is coming from though - 'relax a bit about what you think you want' - that is relatable to those who's super focused on certain things that you can lose sight of something even greater when you're not paying attention to the whole.

I recently wrote a piece on Love and would be interested to hear your opinion on it. I think that's where our conversation can converge. Because ultimately, humans do a lot of things for love - I introduced this along with Maslow's Hierarchy of needs framework.

So for me, the profound message here is to not lose sight of something that SHOULD be important to you. Connection, love and sense of belonging.

Expand full comment