Gordon, I recommend the Satiricon of Petronius for some fantastic confirmation of your model of gambling applied to life success in general.
It’s fairly difficult for Americans, raised on meritocracy, and perhaps before than on the assumption of wise and just gods, to relate to the strong desire, expressed by many characters, for an unjust and capricious world. I suppose that if people imagine “lucky”, “blessed”, or “well fated” to be personal traits they can then easily believe that they are above average on those traits. The last, in particular, is not easily disconfirmed.
Gordon, I recommend the Satiricon of Petronius for some fantastic confirmation of your model of gambling applied to life success in general. It’s fairly difficult for Americans, raised on meritocracy, and perhaps before than on the assumption of wise and just gods, to relate to the strong desire, expressed by many characters, for an unjust and capricious world. I suppose that if people imagine “lucky”, “blessed”, or “well fated” to be personal traits they can then easily believe that they are above average on those traits. The last, in particular, is not easily disconfirmed.