Luck

Einstein famously said:

God does not play dice.

That of course does not mean luck is not involved in the way the universe is unfolding. We can see this luck as positive or negative. And our viewpoint is down to a matter of luck too.

In his book, The Self Illusion, Bruce Hood describes a successful lady, who for one reason or another ended up on skid row, and then dragged herself back to being a sought-after motivational speaker? Now the question that arises is, can everyone who finds themselves skid row become a successful motivational speaker or even someone who can contribute to society in some positive way?

A while back when discussing Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, about the aspect of luck on the agnostics international forum my interlocutor suggested that Gladwell should have asked Bill Gates. As it happens Gladwell had asked Gates, and Gates confirmed (in the book) that he thought he had been lucky. Here are some of the things that Gates had thought contributed to his luck:

• Gates came from a wealthy family. One that cared about his education.
• At grade seven his parents took him out of state schooling and put him into an elite private school.
• The following year his school started a computer club. This would have been pretty much unheard of in my part of the world … and I went to ‘technical school’.
• This school in 1968 invested in a terminal that hooked up to a local mainframe. In 1973 when I was learning basic Fortran programming at university, I did not have access to a terminal; it was all punch card.
• Money for the computer club ran out, but Gates got access to mainframe time in exchange for testing software for a local company connected to one of the parents at the school.
• When this came to an end Gates got access to the University of Washington mainframe. Essentially stealing time.
• Gates got an opportunity to write code for the Bonneville Power Station, as an independent school project.

All this before leaving high school! No wonder Bill Gates was in a position to quit university early and seize on a business opportunity when it came along. Plus he had the right entrepreneurial attributes.

Looking at my personal anecdotal evidence. I was not a great student, essentially laziness was my secret power: not the do nothing kind but the do just enough. Way back when, at the age of eleven I did not pass the exams to get into what was a grammar school. But at the age twelve I had the opportunity to take exams again, this was for the handful of kids from each school who were doing well and could compete for the few vacancies that had opened up in the grammar schools. Well, I did not get into a grammar school, but for some reason I got into a technical school, in a rough part of town, two bus rides away. This suited me fine, the classes emphasized biology, chemistry, physics and math. My Dad pushed me to do my homework, my parents attended parent teacher evenings. But, I was not a great student, but scraped by into university to do chemistry.

I was not a great student. I recently got hold of my transcripts … on the whole poor. The Transcripts did not have results from the final exams, so I must have done reasonably well there to pull up my grade somewhat. Oh … and I met my wife to be. After university I got a job as teacher … no training, two terms in I got an opportunity to do a PhD.

An older friend had suggested I see his advisor to see if I could do a PhD with him. I went to see him, he told me he did not have the money available to sponsor a student. I went away disappointed. Two weeks later the advisor phones to say he’s found the money, when can I start? My lab was on the third floor on the right side of the building (in the center of the picture). During my time here I married what turned out to be my life long partner of 45 years so far. About four years later, after a very average degree, I had a job in South Africa.

At the laboratory in South Africa I earned my spurs, learning the practical side of extractive metallurgy and gained experience working with people. After six years, ended up finding a job, in semi rural British Columbia. Did I say? I was born in Canada. I got an expression of interest from the company, two weeks after I got a second rejection letter. Yes, it was in the days when companies replied with letters. It turns out someone had resigned and they had an opening with my skills. And we have been here for the last 33 years.

So from a personal point of view … I was lucky in the sense of:

• I was lucky I was a bright but lazy child. Intelligence is not something that can be learned. Also that my laziness was never sufficient to hamper my development.
• I was lucky I had parents, particularly my Dad, who enforced some discipline in me.
• I was lucky, I scraped into a technical school.
• I was lucky I scraped into university.
• I was lucky I got a degree, despite my poor academic record.
• I was lucky my friend suggested contacting his advisor.
• I was lucky my professor found funding for my degree.
• I was lucky I got a job in South Africa.
• I was lucky I was born in Canada.
• I was lucky someone had resigned at just the right time.
• I am lucky to have the wife I have.

I have dwelt on the what can be seen as the positive aspects of my luck. I could have pointed out things that can be seen as negative in my life. But one thing is for sure … I did not pull myself up by my bootstraps. I am not:

A self made man, thereby relieving God of an almighty responsibility.

And I will leave the reader with a video about a Chinese fable of a farmer. It is narrated with the dulcet tones of Alan Watts

Addendum

Came across this Tim Minchin quote …