luck (Page 2)

Some people are luckier than others. Some people rely on lucky charms. One extremely lucky man in the UK told a judge he did not get rich from embezzling?he got his money because he won the lottery 80 times.

In the Independent, Graham Keeley reports that a judge became suspicious about Juan Antonio Roca when the police discovered regular deposits of large amounts of money into his bank account that could not be accounted for by his salary. He was charged with embezzlement, but pleaded not guilty. Keely quotes him as saying, “In the past 15 years, I’ve won about 50 prizes in lotteries. And throughout my whole life I have won about 80 major prizes.”

Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
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Today is June 6, 2006?or 666 to numerologists. In the Bible, Revelation 13:18 describes the number “666” as “the number of the beast.” No one seems to know exactly what this means, but many people think it refers to something evil. About a year ago, we told you that 666 is NOT the “number of the beast” anyway?that’s actually 616.

Theologian Greg Snyder says that the Biblical reference to “666” is a numeric code for a feared Roman Emperor, and not an indication of apocalypse. Revelation 13:18 ascribes the number “666” to the beast that rises from the sea and says it is also “the number of a man.” Since the second century, the number and identity of the malevolent, apocalyptic figure it supposedly identifies have been the focus of endless speculation.
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Dr. Richard Wiseman, a psychologist who studies luck, wants to know if certain people are “born lucky.” Are you luckier if you were born during the summer than in the winter? So far, statistics say “yes.”

Wiseman is asking people when they were born and if they think they are naturally lucky, then tabulating the results. Despite the fact that Wiseman’s research shows that people create their own luck, often without realizing it, he also thinks luck may be linked to your birth date. For instance, research has found that babies born in winter are more likely to develop schizophrenia.
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We toss a coin and ask people to name either “heads” or “tails” because we think this gives each side an equal chance?except it doesn’t. Statistician Persi Diaconis says, “I don’t care how vigorously you throw it, you can’t toss a coin fairly.”
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