What is a jinx? The perception of repeated bad luck. What is luck? Luck is simply the outcome of an event with multiple possibilities, in the context of the desires of a particular human being. Fortune, then, is an outcome perceived as favourable by and to the observer, misfortune is an outcome that is deemed unfavourable.
These events can be considered random in nature, though when the only true random events are quantum in nature, our day to day experiences are influenced by what came before. The roll of a die is dependant upon the method of rolling and the orientation of the die in the hand, which in turn is dependant upon the forces that acted upon it in storage, the way they were put into storage and the outcome of the last roll. Repeat. We cannot possibly account for all these variables, so in this example, a die is functionally random. I just want you to think about that.
But if we consider apparently random events as being random, are people really unlucky? Most people will find the that number of favourable and unfavourable outcomes of random events that they experience are on or near the average. But as with all such data, it will be normally distributed (a Gaussian curve- the bell-shaped one). So yes, there will be people at both extremes that experience more unfavourable events than normal, and vice versa. This does not make them jinxed or charmed, they are as likely as anyone else to experience "good" or "bad" luck. It's just the way the cookie crumbles for them.
Of course, a major factor in this is what constitutes and favourable and unfavourable outcome for a particular person, for it undoubtedly varies from one to the other. If you consider more outcomes to be favourable than other people, you are likely to experience more good luck. And vice versa. I will return to this in a moment.
I don't think that people's happiness correlates to their position on the "luck" distribution curve, and nor can the curve account for the number of people who claim to be lucky or unlucky. Why? Selective memory.
A million random events happen to you every day, and the result of each is a coincidence. Few of them appear significant to you. You will not remember the millions of things that happen to you that you are ambivalent towards, for there are far more neutral outcomes than "good" and "bad" ones for most events. But those that pertain to your personal interests, you will notice. But some people remember more good ones than bad ones, and vice versa. Some people will make the best of an unfavourable outcome, see the bright side of it. Others will notice why the good outcomes were not perfect, reducing the number of "lucky" possibilities for them.
The reason? Attitude. This will go up and down with mood, but some people are naturally more optimistic than others. This will colour their perception of events, noticing the good more and making light of the bad, thus reinforcing their optimism. If you are pessimistic or grumpy most of the time, you will be the opposite. It is a hard cycle to break from, but many do and it brings a marked change in their demeanour.
So cheer up, AIN, you know what they say. Some things in life are bad, they can really make you mad.
Other things just make you swear and curse,
When you're chewing life's gristle,
Don't grumble,
Give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...
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, I prefer not telling you it. Everybody deceive me and I think they like doing it. I sometimes prefer the death!!! And this isn't my full list... but I can't explain everything. Now I ask you: what does it happen to you, jinxed persons?
cheer up, things work out in the end.
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