For those that have a general understanding of chaos theory, you should be able to understand that it not only applies to the markets, but to life, itself. Now that I see that chaos theory is everywhere, I'm wondering how much of our lives is really under our control. Obviously you can make choices which send you down different paths, but in the big picture, how much is under our control? I do believe that hard work pays off, but think about how much is circumstance, also. Let's say there were 2 Tom Cruises, both trying to become movie stars. Say they both worked as hard, but one day, Tom Cruise #2 wakes up 15 minutes late and is 15 minutes late for a movie audition. Tom #1 arrived on time and completed his audition on time. Tom #2 showed up late, but by showing up late, he met someone that was not there 15 minutes ago for Tom #1 to meet. Let's say this person helps Tom #2's career immensely and leads to him becoming a movie star. You can see that although 2 people can try just as hard, it can be chaos theory which determines your fate. So now let's say Tom #2 becomes a huge movie star because he got his break, and Tom #1 is still struggling. All because of an event that was not really under their control/planned by them. If we accept that life is just a bunch of probabilities, how can we make the best out of it? There are some that say, "everything happens for a reason." I HATE when people say that. Yes, you do have some control, but a lot of it is just circumstance. If you get in a car accident and lose a leg, it's just WHAT HAPPENED. There's no ultimate purpose for it occurring. There's no point in asking, "why me?" One more thing, does anyone believe anything is random? I don't think anything is random. Even if a computer generates a random number, there was still some set of circumstances that led to the computer picking a number. We may think of it as random, but what really is?! "Success tends to go not to the person who is error-free, because he also tends to be risk-averse. Rather it goes to the person who recognizes that life is pretty much a percentage business. It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task." - Donald Rumsfeld
I'm going to post a bunch of my thoughts relating to this. Some of the things I'm about to say, I'm not even sure of. They might not even make sense. I will continue, anyway... The reason I'm thinking about this stuff tonight is because my dog might be dying. Before this dog, I had another one that died only about a little over a year ago. It made me realize that people really can just have bad luck. If it's possible for something to happen, it will happen. If it's possible for someone to have 2 or more dogs die at a young age, it will happen. When it happens, the people it happens to will just think it sucks, and that's about all you can do. I don't do any of the "why me?" bullshit. I think of it just as a low probability that happened to happen to me, unfortunately. If we expand this one example to other issues in life, it really is true that people can just have bad luck. Just as if enough monkeys made stock trades, a few would be good traders, the other end is that, with enough people, some people will really just have bad luck and many things WON'T go their way in life--not even by their own doing. I consider myself to be a realist. I'm not usually overly optimistic or pessimistic. However, the older I get and the more I think about things, I think I'm becoming more pessimistic. The following quote is appropriate here, and it is TRUE. "In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference." - Richard Dawkins Like it or not, the above quote IS our reality. If you want to believe a religion and put a blindfold over your eyes, go right ahead. However, that quote is the TRUTH. In simple terms, the above quote basically means that there are going to be very lucky people, very unlucky people, and some people in the middle; it's just the way it is, and it may not even be by their own doing. If asked if you think life is great or if it sucks, before you answer, consider that your opinion is relative to your life. For example, we already know luck will happen, if you happen to be a lucky one, of course you will say life is great. However, before you eliminate that life sucks, consider that people really can be unlucky. It all really is relative. If you live in the USA and you think your life sucks, it probably doesn't seem so to a hungry person in Africa. So environment definitely plays a role. I suppose if you were smart, you would live where you believe you have an advantage. For example, if you think you're poor in the USA, maybe you should go to a poorer country where you can make a difference with what you do have. A big issue that arises from this is when I think about having kids or not. I am definitely not someone who will have kids just to have kids because that's what everyone else does. I will only reproduce if I think my kids will have a good life. If I'm broke at 35, no kids for me. Sure, they could make it big on their own, but what are the odds? I'm just trying to say that struggling is not fun. So why would I bring a kid into this world who is probably going to struggle? Too many people DON'T think about this, which is why we have all these people having kids who can't provide for them. Then everyone else has to provide for them. I will end this rant with this idea.. If you were to play a shoot out game, would you even bother playing if you know that people can start with more bullets than you (some may even have many more than you do) by chance? The analogy is, when some people are born into a rich family, which increases their chances off success, do you even want to compete with them knowing that you have a clear disadvantage and the whole game is going to be a struggle? I used money as an example here, but there are others I could have used. Physical appearance, intelligence, etc.
Such is a life of late night confusion, doubt, pain, and useless babble without a higher power guiding you.
its unfortunate that you equate being poor ( no money ) as unlucky or having no luck ( maybe this is not how you think, but from what you wrote this is what is conveyed ). Life is not about keeping up with the Jones's ( physical , intellegence and above all money ). I understand why you would think this way though, it has been pounded into your head thru the media, your peers and the hot bush at the clubs all your life. It is all around us, the money gets the nice house the great toys and the beautiful women but it wont buy you happiness and it wont make you a better father.....The act of bringing a child into this World is not about money it is about love....peace
Some view bringing a child into this world as sharing a wonderful life with the child, which of course has lots of love in it. You have to have a wonderful life first though. Gordon is stuck in an existentialist quandary, that can only end with the practice of faith.
Optional7, Not existentialism, more akin to pragmatic realism. A description of a humanity which can handle the state of thinking consciousness, without unreasonable and excessive need to defer to an imagined "higher authority" If you mean by faith some kind of religious faith, then such creates more quandary than a bus load of Thunderbolts on pilgrimage to a Bible factory.
We been down this road before, you define, I define, bottom line it is faith in something. The ego of those who stake claim to pragmatism, insufferable.