This question invariably elicits a range of answers varying from none (0%) to everything (100%). The truth, if we examine the issue closely, is likely to be somewhere in between. Luck is responsible for events that we cannot control, events that are chancy, aleatory, or stochastic. On the other hand, events that depend on us, i.e., that we can let happen or not happen, are deterministic.

Throughout the ages, many learned individuals have written on luck and its role on the human experience. Machiavelli, the great Italian statesman and thinker, attributed to Goddess Fortune about 50% of the events in our life. Others variously believe that it is greater or smaller, but one thing is clear: Luck definitely plays a role. The appropriate or relevant percentage seems to vary from culture to culture. In Western culture, people believe the number is lower, loosely ranging from 0% to 20%; in Eastern culture, the prevailing belief is much higher, from 80% to 100%! And the argument continues.

Cynics observe that it is always better for an individual to blame luck for ill-fated events befalling him/her; otherwise he/she would feel responsible and this could lead to much greater trouble. The truth is: We are not in control of everything; there is a Power Out There, loosely defined in our meager understanding of the totality of Nature, that is in charge of a portion of the human experience. There is nothing we can do to change that.