St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-04-07
CONCERNING LUCK.

a Unscisntiflc and IN Unreason.
able Belief
Belief in luck Is equally unscientilic
and unreasonable. The average.mind.
which has ever been an illogical mind.
draws no distinction between the OBJ
served ill-luck or good luck which
may b. expected to continue It Is
this trust in luck this expectation
based on past events. which is un-
scientific and Illogical not the recog-
milton of the fact that such and such
men have been lucky or unlucky In
the past. This last is certainty; the
belief based on it by the average mind
u absurdity.
1t may seem harsh to say that be-
lfefs It this sort. which are entertained
by ninoty-nne men IN hundred. in.
dicate weak place in the brain. But
insomuch n more than one profound
philosopher has expressed the belief
that every man has some weak place
in the brain Gas each man would ad-
NIT OF himself if he tested all his
beliefs and compared them with those
of his fellow-men dispassionat ately). to
say that faith i'm luck and fetishes in
dicates mental flaw is merely to say
that the weak place in tho average
brain includes this particular weak
ness
Consider the case Of q believer in
luck actually putting his belief to the
test-nOt merely as to its correctness.
but As. to his own faith in it which
may not perhaps be SO real As he im-
agines. Take as concrete exam
pie gambler at San Carlo.
who has been having . great
run of luck. An 0nlooker. pos
sessed with the lief in luck. begins
to regard this player as one of the
lucky whose fortunes he will do well
to follow in order that the luck may
be. as it were. reflected upon himself
But his mind is divided by several
thoughts. In the first place. he is
not altogether sure that the gamblers
good luck is likely to be steady. The
longer he notes its continuance the
more satisfied he becomes on this
point Yet he knows or thinks he
knows that even the steadiest luck has
its limit; and the longer he has looked
on and watched success after success
the more anxious he becomes lest this
limit should be close at hand. H.
wishes TO share the successful gam
bler's good fortune; but he fears lest,
Mt the very moment when he makes
the attempt. that fortune will for the
time turn. and he will reap loss only
and no gain. These doubts.
which every outsider in such a case
experiences. show that IN reality there
is no faith in the lucky gambler luck.
The mind unconsciously works more
correctly than the man thinks He
would say. at the very moment he is
perplexed by such doubts. that he has
full faith in the gamblers luck; but
he has not; he only thinks he has.
If. overcoming his doubts. he Joins
in the play. backing always the same
color as the heretofore lucky gambler.
he is bound to find either his hopes or
his fears confirmed. Yet whichever
event happens. his faith in luck will be
confirmed. He will recognize i'm success
new evidence Of the power Of luck; in
failure. new evidence of the fact rhat
luck must change at last. His illogical
beliefs about luck combine the two
contrary convictions that luck may he
trusted to continue and that
luck can not continue forever;
vet he never practices contrc-
diction. though when the trial
comes it is always n toss-up in his
mind (the metaphor is in this connec-
ton particularly ap propriate) whether
he will back the luck or back the
change. and he never notices that
:his doubt implies the absolute nom
reality Of the faith he supposes to be
sleadfast and assured.
A believer in luck will tell you Of
odd condolences which seem 10 con-
firm his belief; but he will never
think of telling you. nor does he
ever inquire himself how many cases
were involved from among which the
coincidences he mentions occurred.
n a man tossed six" ten times rum
ming with a single die. or double
sixrs" five times, or ''head' Tin coin
tossing) fifty timeA the event would
seem most remarkable; and If
II was observed alone or as
occurring in . few trials.
re might justly Be surprised In fact.
scarcely any onlooker could fail to in
Ter that the die or dice were loaded in
the first two cases or the coin double
headed in the second. and yet 20 en-
tirely does the number of trials modi-
n our opinion that il in each case only
! sufficient number of trials were
made, tho failure Of the very event
which, considered alone. seemed 80 re-
markable. could justly be regarded rs
moro remarkable b. far than its occur