Editing Luck (section)

===Fallacy===
Another view holds that "luck is probability taken personally." A [[rationalist]] approach to luck includes the application of the rules of [[probability]] and an avoidance of [[scientific method|unscientific]] beliefs. The rationalist thinks that the belief in luck is a result of poor reasoning or [[wishful thinking]]. To a rationalist, a believer in luck who asserts that something has influenced his or her luck commits the "[[post hoc ergo propter hoc]]" [[logical fallacy]]: that because two events are connected sequentially, they are connected causally as well. In general, this fallacy is that:
#A luck-attracting event or action happens;
#Then a positive outcome happens;
#Therefore, the event or action influenced the outcome.

More contemporary authors writing on the subject believe that the definition of good destiny is: One who enjoys good health; has the physical and mental capabilities of achieving his goals in life; has good appearance, and; has happiness in mind and is not prone to accidents.<ref>{{cite web|title=How to be Lucky and Successful in Life|author=Sumit Kumar Sirkar, Pothi|year=2010|page=5|url=http://pothi.com/pothi/book/sumit-kumar-sirkar-how-be-lucky-and-successful-life|publisher=Pothi.com|access-date=2012-10-04}}</ref>

In the rationalist perspective, probability is only affected by confirmed causal connections.

The [[gambler's fallacy]] and [[inverse gambler's fallacy]] both explain some reasoning problems in common beliefs in luck. They involve denying the unpredictability of [[random]] events: "I haven't rolled a seven all week, so I'll definitely roll one tonight".

[[Philosopher]] [[Daniel Dennett]] wrote that "luck is ''mere'' luck" rather than a property of a person or thing.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6SPBOq1BCf0C&pg=PA92 Elbow Room] by Daniel Clement Dennett, p. 92. "We know it would be superstitious to believe that "there actually is such a thing as luck" - something a rabbits' foot might bring - but we nevertheless think there is an unsuperstitious and unmisleading way of characterising events and properties as ''merely'' lucky."</ref>