Luck its something we all want. Sometime it’s good other times it can be bad.
Is there anything we can do to improve our luck?
Can talismans and charms make us have less bad luck and more good luck?
In this video we take a look at the Charm of Cheltenham and ask if this, and other trinkets
of good fortune can really make a difference? Stick around to the end of the video to find
out how you can become luckier. Welcome to if
So what is the charm of Cheltenham? This lucky object appeared in a recent article
published on the website Haunted Ohio. The charm has a long history, first being
used as a mascot for a squadron of ww1 pilots. In those first days of flight things were
very dangerous, if you weren’t killed in training you surely would be the moment you
flew your first combat mission. This lead to the creation of many superstitions
and a reliance on good old fashioned luck to survive.
This is where the little guy "Scotch Jock" enters the picture.
Dr A. Cosgrave George sent the lucky charm to a young R.A.F. pilot after
He had received a letter asking for his help. It read:
Sir,—A little over five months ago, a young friend of mine, who is in an O.T.C., [Officers’
Training Corps] wrote to me, enclosing a letter from his particular school chum, who was being
trained as a pilot in the R. A.F. My friend’s object in writing was to beg for my assistance
on behalf of his friend in the R.A.F. The latter, when just on the point of obtaining
his “wings” had crashed badly two or three times in succession, with the result that
he had completely lost his nerve, and was in the very depths of despair, for it meant
that all hope of obtaining his pilot’s certificate had gone. In his trouble he had written to
his old school friend, and the latter in turn wrote- at once to me, begging for my prompt
assistance, ”occult” or otherwise. This was the start of 'Scotch Jock's' journey,
having been a lucky charm carried for a few years in the man’s waist coat. It was now
being wrapped up and sent to a new life in the air service.
'Scotch Jock' did come with some basic instructions for the pilot to follow
1. It was to be worn night and day without fail.
2. It was never to be touched by anyone but the wearer.
These instructions would guarantee that the pilot would regain his confidence and as an
added bonus he and any plane he flew in would also be protected from misfortune.
Reports from the base say that the pilot did indeed regain his nerve and also went on to
become a night observer, whom would run multiple bombing runs over France. Surviving the war
unscathed.
The R.A.F. man wrote the doctor thanking him for the object of his good fortune the letter
said.
Dear Doctor,— I have not forgotten that you said you would
be interested to hear from me. You will remember that five months ago you gave me a little
charm after my crash, and temporary loss of nerve, which A. P. told you of.
I have worn your charm religiously, and though of course I cannot say how far that is instrumental,
it is certainly true that I seem to have been especially protected. Only a week ago I was
crashed badly by my pilot through the engine cutting out in the air. We came down on a
sunken road, and wrecked the machine absolutely. If we had not been quick to put out the first
flames, we should have been on fire very soon, and we were carrying 350 lb. of high explosive
in the shape of bombs. The crash was sufficient to kill us, and it is marvelous that the bombs
did not explode, for they were knocked clean off the racks, which crashed into the embankment.
Yet I escaped without a scratch, and the pilot almost as easily.
Apart from that, five times our engine has failed. Each time by that “untraced causation”
which is called “luck,” it has been on this side of the lines. Otherwise I should
have been a prisoner or worse. And each time we have managed to make a safe landing, which
in unknown country at night is nothing short of wonderful. So whatever may be the truth
of things, I am certainly happy in my horoscope. I thought I would let you know this. I shall
be coming home to England in a month, to have another try for my pilot’s wings. I shall
have as much need then of your charm. Gratefully yours,
—– Lt. R.A.F.
From this letter it would seem that the pilot did have share of bad luck crashing his aircraft
numerous times. This could however be seen as good luck, after
all he did survive each time, and during a war I think a large number of planes would
be lost, and the pilots too. So can we influence our luck are there ways
to swing events in our favor. From that great feeling you get when finding
money on the street, we all have days when we seem luckier than on others.
Is this luck some kind of mysterious supernatural force guiding us through life, rewarding our
good deeds or can we just thank ourselves for maybe being a little more observant on
a certain day? Researching luck has been the focus of many
over the years. The many attempts to decode the secrets of good fortune uncovering some
interesting facts. This research found that what a person might
perceive as “luck” has more to do with psychology than probability; "luck" is actually
just our own positive attitude. This attitude keeps us open to new opportunities or perceiving
patterns in random acts of chance. Let’s take a look at some of this research
and its findings and see if we can uncover a pattern that could make us luckier.
First are those people we all know those that seem to blessed “The Lucky People”
Richard Wiseman, (what a great name for a professor) has carried out a number of studies
trying to figure out how we can separate the qualities of a lucky person from those of
the unlucky. In one such study, he divide a group into
those that thought themselves lucky and unlucky. They then read a newspaper.
On one page of a newspaper, he penned in large letters: “Tell the experimenter you have
seen this and win £250.” The group that identified as lucky were more
likely to see the ad, Where as the “unlucky” people demonstrated more anxiety.
This anxiety made the group less observant. He created “The four principles of Luck”
which can be found his web site. So with these luck hacks could we make Games
of Chance work to our benefit? If we take the simple coin toss and say that
we have just flipped heads four times in row, the logical next flip would be a tail.
This is wrong, its cognitive bias. The odds of flipping heads or tails is still
50/50. This form of thinking has a name it is known
as “gambler’s fallacy” The cause of this way of thinking is to do
with the brain and it's pattern seeking behavior. Our brains evolved to seek these patterns,
this once helped us spot predators and see the migratory patterns of our prey.
Today these abilities are used to entertain, gambling and gaming trigger the brain.
These explanations help us wrap our heads around the odd bit of luck.
Winning at a game or hitting it big on the lottery, but what about those that hit a roll
do Lucky Streaks fit with the same models? whats the secret to hitting a winning streak.
When placing bets in game like craps or roulette your betting shifts your odds.
A person who wins two bets in a row has a 57 percent chance of winning the next one,
but a person who has lost two bets in a row has only a 40 percent chance of winning .
Why? According to a study published last year,
people again fear that their bets will regress to the mean—that if they won, they are more
likely to lose the next time, so they compensate for it by making safer bets.
I guess we can always rely on good old Superstition to help us out.
Crossing your fingers, knocking on wood, charms and amulets just like Scotch Jock from the
start of the video. several studies have shown that superstitions
might work, although not in the way that you may think.
Researchers have hypothesized that the people who use lucky charms tend to persist at problems
longer, saying they felt more effective,almost as if they had assistance from some other
power. people feel empowered when they think that
something else is helping them, so they actually do better at the tasks in hand.
So if you want to get lucky, find yourself a lucky charm.
Do you have a lucky charm? Are you lucky person?
maybe I will get lucky and have you join the channel or hit that like button
whats the luckiest thing that has happened to you?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below