JACH

Idiosyncrasy of Luck

The idea that the individual can forge his/her own destiny has become predominant around the world. This notion began during the Industrial Revolution, but became popular after the end of World War II propelled mainly by American mass media, and continued growing throughout the twentieth century. During the new millennia, social media has become the receptacle for “prophets of human autonomy”, people attempting to profit by convincing others that success, happiness, and abundance are a decision and not a circumstance. The message has now become embedded in mostly all of our contemporary narratives, even reaching the spheres of health and longevity. This project aims to de-dogmatize this notion, manifesting that luck is a variable that must be included in every equation of the human endeavor; once randomness is acknowledged is easy to see the myth of autonomy. The way luck works can be seen at plain sight, its idiosyncrasy has been revealed, yet we have chosen not to see it.