Did you ever wish for something and have it come true, or sit on the edge of your seat with a good luck charm during a major sports event, willing the game to swing to your team’s favour, and have it actually pay off? Have you ever won the lottery (no matter how small the pay off) based on your own “lucky” set of numbers? The feeling is inescapable. You are convinced that your effort did this. But, now that you’re a little calmer, the dust has settled, and the neighbors have stopped complaining about the noise, let’s ask a few questions. Is there more to this process than is immediately apparent? Would the numbers have been called even if you had done nothing but purchase a ticket and placed random numbers in their place? After all, how many other people were counting on their numbers being called? How complex and time-consuming had their number choosing rituals been? (more…)