Table of Contents

Introduction 7 Chapter 1 : Luck - Fact or Fiction? 9 Chapter 2 : Luck and Cause and Effect 19 Determinism 22 Destiny 25 The Butterfly Effect 26 Chapter 3 : Magic and Luck 29 Taboos 37 Ordeals 41 Chapter 4 : Philosophy, Religion and Luck 45 Philosophy 46 Religion 48 Luck in the Bible 50 Lutheranism 52 Calvinism 53 Judaism 55 Islam 55 Hinduism 57 Reincarnation 57 Divine Providence 59 Chapter 5 : Probability and Luck 61 Optimum Strategy 72 Newcomb's Paradox 74 Game Theory 76 Odds 80 Gambling 81 Randomness 83 Murphy's Law 85 The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo 86 Aleatory 90 Chapter 6 : Luck and Coincidence 95 Remarkable Coincidences 99 Synchronicity 101 Serendipity 103 Collective Unconscious 108 Akashic Record 109 Chapter 7: Luck and Related Phenomena 113 Astrology 114 Fortune-telling 116 Premonitions 120 Precognition 123 Intuition 124 Superstition 126 Miracles 129 Feng Shui 132 Auspices and Omens 134 Oracles 136 The Fates 139 The Muses 139 Hubris 141 Numerology 147 The Big Bang 149 Rare Earth Hypothesis 156 The Placebo Effect 162 Biorhythm 163 Lucky/Unlucky people 165 Chapter 8 : Luck: How to Improve It 171 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs 175 References and Further Reading