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Is Success Luck or Hard Work?

Veritasium - 2020-08-28

In a competitive world, tiny advantages can make all the difference. Get 10% off Snatoms with code 'giveluck' in the US: https://ve42.co/USA or International: https://snatoms.com
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Snatoms are also available on Amazon Prime in the US but with no discount code: https://ve42.co/Asnatoms

Huge thanks to Gene and Sam from Potato Jet for filming with me: https://ve42.co/potatojet

This video was inspired by and draws examples from the book "Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy" by Robert H. Frank

Special thanks to Patreon supporters (and to everyone who commented on an earlier version of this video):
Marc Forand, Robert Dickerson, Christian Stauffer, LoadTooSlow, Vincent, Lyvann Ferrusca, DALE HORNE, Alfred Wallace, Kevin Beavers, Arjun Chakroborty, Joar Wandborg, Clayton Greenwell, Michael Krugman, Ron Neal, Donal Botkin

Animations by Iván Tello

Balaj Prasanna - 2020-08-28

Well I thought it was 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will. 5% pleasure, 50% pain and a 100% reason to remember the name.

Krishnendu Bala - 2021-10-14

❤️

Gentleman's Wardrobe - 2021-10-15

🤣🤣🤣

Brandon Nelson - 2021-10-24

Fort Minor 🔥🔥

Tosfoy - 2021-10-25

Mike

Akiyama Akira - 2022-02-27

Remember The Name: Mike

Zoltán Szabó - 2021-12-07

This was a better motivational video than we can see from people who call themself a motivational trainer, coach or whatever
Thank you for making since cool! <3

Stuart - 2022-02-16

Absolutely

Irfan Aslam - 2021-11-10

A wise mom to her kids in a first world 🌍 country: NEVER forget that most of your life's battles were won even before you were born 🙏🙏

Emyaj Nosdrahcir Eniac Sovereign - 2022-02-20

I found this one interesting conclusion about the why to everyone's so called random death or luck.

Everyone who died ended for a wonderful reason.
Where it would have been a screaming heartless hell worse than they ever had been in life in some way or another.
If they had only lived just a bit longer to receive that hidden torment

But those who live were better off alive.

They would have never been at peace in death, let alone in the next life over nothing of their own reaping.
Where many others would have died with them, until finally everyone would have received damaged after a long period of time.

But the unkind are too weak to think of their own downfall as any such eventual Salvation.
Yet they will have the audacity and offense to regurgitate this phrase back at me and others thru total misunderstanding.
Saying such things like it is my benefit if they do the contrary to the time of ones true ending or beginning alike.

( Think of them as male animals having to be the alpha male in number one position all the time...
Where the show must go on even when everything of them burns in flames )

PaintSkate8 - 2022-03-09

Everyone in this comment's reply section clearly didn't watch the video LOL. Either that or they heard him say "people who got ahead think they all did it because of their own hard-work and perseverance, and usually think that others must just be less talented or less hard-working" (paraphrasing) and then said "Hm, that definitely doesn't apply to me :)" and then go and do exactly that lmfao

Chromebook Test - 2022-03-09

@Chip Sevens literal meaning trumps intent???
hahaha
ok kid. whatever that means....

bruno is too young to understand the knowledge contained with in the statement.

in fact, same goes for all of these social justice morons who look at the world through a 5 year old lens, saying, "whaaa i want it NOOOW!"

you may be able to read thought 100 years of history in an hour, but 100 years of history still takes 100 years to occur and the issues that his type complains about, have been on a consistent trajectory since before the founding of The US. since the invent of liberalism, which btw is based on the bible...

Chromebook Test - 2022-03-09

@Bruno Kocinas big false kid, the battle rages, like a cold war, if what was earned is not maintained, you will have to fight for it all over again.
wait.. you dont think that freedom comes but once and then you have it forever, do you?

every heard this one?

"hard times create strong men
strong men create good times
good times create weak men
weak men create hard times"

for thinking that those battles are gone, you demonstrate weakness.

you shouldnt "speak" unless you have a clue, lest you publicly humiliate yourself

Chromebook Test - 2022-03-09

@olyguy2000 wanna hear something funny about this underdeveloped perspective?

it was colonialism that ended slavery, those who practiced liberalism, or in other words "on what The US constitution is based"

JustANobody - 2021-11-06

Honestly I always thought of success in terms of speedrunning, in speedrunning you can be as good as you want but you still need some luck to achieve world records, however if you aren’t good or don’t keep trying then the luck doesn’t matter or help. So really I believe success can be attributed to luck, hard work, and determination most importantly

Leyrann - 2021-11-08

I think this is a good way to view it: You need luck to get there, but if you don't have the hard work, then no amount of luck is ever going to matter. And out of the two, the hard work is the only one you can control.

kostas gkaros - 2021-12-04

The luck matters. Luck can be that a person don't need to play all the stage of the game.also luck is how many times a person have played the game before.

The Truth Channel - 2021-12-08

Theres also other factors. You can work really hard and get lucky but when you actually step inside what you were chasing you realize its not what it really appeared to be. I think if you can't assess the complete sphere of the consequences of a dream you should find another dream. Luck can bring success. It however, can't make you happy or gratify you in that success. Sometimes the hardest disappoints lie on the other side of your success. Thats when you really have to commit yourself to learning what life is about and how the world really functions.

Anup Pande - 2022-02-19

@Leyrann I like that last line

Emyaj Nosdrahcir Eniac Sovereign - 2022-02-19

Yet poor fortune will remain with those who have only doubt and fear at heart.
They will fail even if they had every cheating angle to the mythical degree.

Astro Beef - 2022-02-19

Here's one way I try to break the paradox of it: 'Luck' can be seen as the good deeds of others benefiting you. All the astronauts who passed are lucky, but they're all equally hard-working: there's not one astronaut who made it on luck alone. Recognize that you're lucky, and show your gratitude by working hard to make the luck worth their effort.

FZA - 2022-02-22

100%

Aan Azwan - 2020-08-29

my mom stopped schooling at 8 years old, while my dad stopped when he was 15,both due to poverty. Statistically the cycle of poverty would continue, but a University opened up close to our home, and my father worked there as a gardener, there he borrowed books for me and opened up my interest in education and its importance. Now I'm working there as an academic faculty member, and people around would always ask how a barely educated gardener raise up an academician. Looking back, if we were just a few kilometres away from the uni, our lives could drastically altered, among other factors that are too long to explain. Today I try my best to help others who weren't so lucky.

Light - 2021-12-15

A priceless story in existence, there should be a movie made on you 😀

Jake Tan - 2021-12-29

Add to that, a continuous improvement behaviour where you keep working on misses to improve yourself i.e. corrections and re-corrections to initial attempts. F.A.I.L. means First Attempt In Learning.

Dementional - 2022-01-12

Lol they sound ignorant. Many geniuses drop out of school.

Isac Daimary - 2022-02-08

Your story resonates in me, eventhough am not so successful person .. :-)

ThatDarnedDuck - 2022-02-16

You can become that lucky factor in those peoples lives, that’s cool

Patrick O'Brian - 2021-10-25

To put the Austronaut model into a real world context, Neil Armstrong was obviously NASA's first pick to command Apollo 11 at the time, but that was only because their original front runner died in an accident during the Apollo 1 mission tests. These sorts of things are happening all the time, but trying to hold these circumstances against the beneficiaries is just as arrogant as claiming that anyone who didn't make it simply didn't try hard enough.

Mandhan Academy - 2021-12-01

1 Billion Respect for you :)

Tony Bernardo - 2022-03-06

It’s refreshing to hear this from the mouth of a highly successful person. I share very few videos, but this one needs to be seen by as many people as possible. Thanks for making this!

TwoCents - 2021-11-12

For sure it’s both. There are so many times where I forgot there was a quiz in a class and then the teacher canceled the quiz the same day (this happened enough times that I thought it was freaky). That being said, I also put all my effort into my success, but it felt like whenever I faltered and my efforts weren’t enough there was some lucky thing that happened, or someone that helped me (Sometimes they were basically strangers). Seeing this happen over and over made me realize how essential luck is in life, so much so that I think it should be added to being a necessity for survival (think of people that live perfectly healthy lives then get cancer out of nowhere or get hit by a drunk driver, they can have everything they needed to survive but they die because they were unlucky).

Totally agree with the video, luck and hard work are both needed for success.

Andrei Jikh - 2021-07-16

This is everything I've ever believed but wasn't able to quantify. Now I can explain it. Such a great video, thank you!

United Europe - 2021-09-07

Yes this science video is made to ecpkain scientifically what most people want to believe. If you are born in the last quarter of a year then you should be playing another game.

The game of Hockey is rigged. Almost every game is tigged to favor those lucky (privileged). Those lucky tell you to work more so you validate their success and how brave they are.

Thod work harder work(ed) in the world without real chances. Play hard if you have no chance or if you are the privileged - otherwise go play something you are favored in.

Nick C - 2021-10-02

@Dale Gribble explaining it all and putting "it" all together to understand.

Biggity Nonins - 2021-12-24

hi jojo

Gregory Jackson - 2021-12-25

This comment may have saved your channel for me. I used to love it. Got old real quick. I'll review again.

chxse - 2022-02-16

I think skill and hard work are much more important than luck when it comes to success. I believe luck helps a lot with it, but not everyone has the mental skill or social skill to utilize said luck to its fullest, therefore those with skill will succeed easier than those without as much of the skill.

Edit: for example, meeting the right people to get great contacts is a huge part of success, but if you don't know how to relate to them, meeting them is quite useless.

Nox.INk# Records ❶ - 2021-11-09

This channel is a gem amongst gems. Honestly.

Josiah the NF - 2021-11-10

So true, Veritasium is awesome

Capron Funk - 2022-02-15

How I met your mother quote was my fav part, you’re so lucky

Floppie - 2022-02-16

Hai capron

Jana :3 - 2022-02-19

It melted my heart and I audibly said "aww". He deserves his success, even if he got lucky at some moments.

B - 2021-11-22

I’ve always wondered who would I be in different circumstances than the ones I’ve been through. I couldn’t agree more with you. Loved it. And the wife story was so cool 😂

Roccofan - 2022-02-20

One of my favorite sayings is, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” Anyone that makes it to the highest levels in whatever they do has a good deal of luck on their side, but that luck would be meaningless if they hadn’t put in the work necessary to allow that “luck” to boost them that exact 0.whatever percent needed to be the “winner”. Remember that the next time you’re taking your creatin, after you put on your plastic sweat suit and your high altitude mask to go and play the lottery.

DenebVegaAltair - 2022-03-05

there's a phrase for this in my language too. Thank you for letting me know there was an English equivalent.

Alexandre Carvalho - 2020-08-28

Basically:
Luck counts, but don't count on it.

csl110 - 2021-07-22

@tatri2 dnd seems fun

Ayush2 Sachan2 - 2021-08-30

Yeah because things which we get without working hard can betray us at any point

Red Pill Satori - 2021-09-07

@Luis Bobadilla ..I think you missed the point. Being diligent doesn't make one entitled. Assuming that all (or even most) of your success is due to hard work makes one like that.

Daniel Commesse - 2021-11-18

And the more you don't count on it, the more likely you are to find it

Isse Abdirahman Weheliye - 2022-02-06

@Luis Bobadilla only when it meets the luck part

Mayam MZC - 2021-12-28

One of the best videos I have ever seen on YouTube. Interestingly, I had started to think like this just recently in acknowledging how our ego downplays the work of others or how much luck is a key factor in people's success, and this video shed more light on that. Thank you 👍

Oceeta - 2021-11-07

There is a really powerful message here. I appreciate the parting words in this video where you talked about doing what we can to increase the luck of others. It's one of my motivations for wanting to become successful, and I'm glad I have a video here on YouTube to remind me of that, should I somehow lose my way.

Liber 8 - 2021-11-24

Great video, I was just telling my kids today about how lucky they are to be living in the UK,
And have so much wealth and opportunities, compared with half of the world!
I think I'll force them to put their phones down for 12 minutes tomorrow after school, and get them to watch this video.
Cheers!

Dylyn Gladden - 2022-02-04

I just want to say I really appreciate these type of videos. It really helps me be able to look at everything from a new perspective and realize how lucky I can be even without what I would consider success.

Coding in Flow - 2021-02-22

Ultimately everything is luck, including the wiring of your brain that makes you work hard

RDIV Channel - 2021-11-14

​@Susan Rudd They "learned" (understood or memorized, often is just memorized and later down the line forget unless they repeat it) the specific things they were taught and you test them for. They also learned due to genetics. Their aptitude. Interests themselves or even whether they will choose to invest time and effort in something they are not interested(if they are not interested in the school subjects) is entirely luck based. Genetics, parenting, how good is the teacher at getting a student interested or not ect, everything.

Also no matter how much someone learns, he can still be stupid/act stupid/say stupid things. And "stupid" here is used as a generic term that covers all sorts of "wrong" words and behaviors.

RDIV Channel - 2021-11-14

​@HungerCake
First, knowledge doesn't equal to intelligence. For example you could know and believe that the earth is not flat and yet say or do non intelligent things.


Furthermore, yes it is luck. To learn new things you must be able to do so. And if you are able to do so, you must also be willing to do so. And then to not be impeded by something else that consumes you. Also to be interested or to not be interested and still willing to put the time and effort to learn something you don't give poop. And ALL that comes from luck. From things and conditions beyond yourself. Whether that's genetics, parents/parenting, society, teachers/teaching, living conditions, so on and so forth or so many things and so many levels that people often if not usually, never consider about or take for granted.

Thulitha Nawagamuwa - 2021-12-03

We call them as luck, but it can be karma.

Battlehard - 2022-01-23

@Beacon Blaster yes

Glitched Zenko Kitsune - 2022-02-13

@Mishahagi Hiruko I can tell

abhiroop ghatak - 2021-12-14

Best part of Veritasium videos are ...... it explains things what we feel but never could hv explain in words

joelsprunger - 2021-12-11

I think you missed an important point: even those whom we think of as successful, often failed many times first. Knowing that a good portion of success is luck can cause you to keep trying with the hope that you will succeed the next go round. Blame your failure on bad luck rather than assuming you aren't good enough to succeed.

paraluchs - 2022-01-22

One of my favorite videos on whole YouTube. Great explanation and such an important topic! Thanks alot for making this.

Carlos G. - 2021-10-19

Thanks so much for putting this video together. Very interesting.This luck factor. I originally perceived it as a random factor - one that we prob have no control over. But after letting it sit, experiencing the weekend while going on a long hike - it hit me that this video, and it’s concept, needs a bit of extra material. More Where luck is not random - where luck can consist of nepotism, by trama or lack of it with life experience and making selections, by personal agenda to crush (lol) the competitors, there are so many factors to consider and to sum it all up as luck is almost irresponsible.

Alux.com - 2020-09-07

Moral of the story: if you got lucky, don't let it go to waste!

Renato - 2021-07-21

@Angela Reuss too many people are responsible for their "bad luck", if you flip a coin too many times, and almost always fall on same side, you can be certain is a faulty coin. People who say, all my relationships were awfull, attribute this to bad lucky or make a whole generalization without admiting was own choice to deal with those people and not others. A person who can't deal with hierarchy and follow rules ,and can't stay in any job is another example.

Renato - 2021-07-21

@manxmaniac if you are never lucky, is not about luck anymore, there must be something else, like a false perspective of the world.

Renato - 2021-07-21

@CeeStyleDj I tought socialsts were about to take money from people who do the work to give to those who won't, this sound much more of "at the expense of others" to me, 'redistribution of wealth' is the way govs write 'stealing'.

Angela Reuss - 2021-07-21

​@Renato I couldn't agree more :) I find myself telling people to stop being a victim all the time. But we must not take either of these perspectives to the extreme as being the only absolute truth. I wholeheartedly agree with you that people with a victim mentality cause their own problems because of their bad choices. However, on the other hand, there are those who have been dealt a bad hand, and it’s always due to what they were exposed to during childhood. There are so many psychological, physical, and financial barriers that those in poverty experience, in which the privileged, who haven’t experienced such barriers, couldn’t possibly understand.



People in poverty don't get the "birds eye view" to see the clear path that others have had the privilege of seeing. They didn't have the privilege of guidance, from experienced friends/relatives who act as mentors, because people from the same social class hang together. It's not often that you'll see someone from the hood, or a homeless person hanging with a group of middle class or wealthy people.



Along with above challenges comes the poverty mindset, that people don't even realize they have,, because the poverty they have been surrounded with is what's considered normal to them. All they know is hopelessness and despair. All they know is mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt, cousin working at places like Walmart, Burger King, Kroger, & the corner store. So they are advised to do these things by friends/fam, who mean well, but aren't really steering them into a path of success. They don't have anyone teaching them about how to make good money with a career, or with businesses and investing. Then, when a child brings up such things to their relatives, who are that much further down the poverty hole, their idea gets shot down with a: “You can’t do that, just do what we’re doing instead”, because that’s all they know that works for them. Ever notice that once children grow up, they end up doing something similar or the same as what their relatives did? What you're exposed to on a regular basis has a big impact on your outcome. So, in most situations, people have no idea which way to turn or what questions to ask to get out of their situation, only what they’ve been taught by the people around them who are also in poverty. In other words, people don’t know what they don’t know. If they knew better, they’d do better.



Even if a person in poverty does go to college, most of the time, they don't know what to do with their degree once they get it, because they've never seen what getting a good job looks like, which sinks them even further into debt. To them, success is so unfamiliar, it's like being a fish out of water. Something that you and I see clear as day is a foreign language to them. Just like being in poverty is a foreign language to those with privilege.



It’s hard to believe in yourself, when all you’re surrounded by is people who don’t believe in themselves. This is one of many reasons that people in poverty have to work 20x harder than someone who's been gifted with a path by friends/family who have paved it for them.



On top of this, you have physical & financial barriers to success. Situations like, living in a bad area with a bad school district, being exposed to all the “bad kids” who’ve had dysfunctional parents, compounded with the child’s own family dysfunction. Children who have to babysit siblings instead of developing themselves or doing school work or going to college. People who had absentee parents, whom didn’t have the capacity to guide them because they were trying to survive themselves. People who can’t fix their broken down car that they still owe payments on. People who didn't have a vehicle or license to get to that better job that wasn't on a bus line. People who had to pay expensive taxi's just to get to the grocery, or pay the expensive laundromat every week, because they couldn't afford a lump sum for a washer/dryer. It’s things like this which keep people broke and broken. These same people don’t have a mom/dad with money or rich uncle to fall back on when they’re in dire straits. They end up being steered into working just to survive.

So even if someone in poverty is trying hard, they have a lot of things being thrown at them, keeping them down. That’s enough to make a person want to say eff it, I’ll just do what their family said to do. But if they had someone from the outside of their circle, like a mentor, who was willing to take them under their wing and show them something different and guide them in the way their family couldn’t, they stand a much better chance of success. The unfortunate thing is that this doesn’t happen often.



I believe that if we incorporate these tools (that parents in poverty aren’t teaching their children) into K-12 education, not only will they benefit, but there will be less welfare, food stamps, section 8, and best of all, less financial resources needed from the system, which means less tax dollars being taken from everyone else.



Yes, I agree 100% that people should be accountable for themselves and shouldn’t act like a victim when their outcome is a result of their poor judgement. Drives me crazy when people act so helpless and play the victim- or those who find a problem for every solution. However, there’s two types of judgement: Informed & Uninformed. So it’s not always a victim mentality that’s keeping someone down.

crease fold - 2021-07-23

@sneaky stepdad maga loser

Kieran Boes - 2022-01-05

Love this! Especially the part where you talk about what you’re grateful for.

Adel8 - Skill up As You Scale Up - 2022-01-22

Amazing you’re so right and you explained it well. This humbles me and a good reminder to have gratitude and just try my best to maintain humility.

Eric Martelle - 2021-12-04

For the first watching your videos I’ve seen so much left out. Though everything you say is true their is a lot to say for an individuals ability to recognize their luck and capitalize on it successfully. Which opens a few more doors, too numerous to go over.

MrEightygrit - 2022-02-12

Love your videos! But this is my favorite.😁. So logical, and a reminder for the benefits of humility. If only we could change the world with this thinking! Way to go, Veritas!

I Love Creativity - 2020-09-18

Yes, luck played an extremely important role in our lives. It starts with the day when we were born and ends when we die.

John Kane - 2021-06-03

@Jinakaks This is an interesting observation; more interesting than most of these other comments, because it hits the point of what @I Love Creativity is saying. But here is a further set of observatory questions: If what you mean by born is not by physically leaving the womb, but rather by conception, and if what you mean by person is more than just a physical process of molecular transfer and addition but a unique spiritual being, than, 1)do people exist before they are born? 2)Are there people who are meant to be conceived but are not? 3)Are there people who are not meant to be conceived but are? 4)Or do people only exist after they are conceived, physically speaking? 5)Is there a law of conservation of spirit, so that question number 4 applies to both atomic structure and spirit??? Hmmmm...any takers? Btw, I am not here to argue, just question.

philip thomey - 2021-10-06

@Jinakaks lol

TheStudioHo - 2021-10-07

The game was rigged from the start

James Roscoe - 2021-11-02

@Scientium Luck is nothing more than an absurd superstition.

Vikram Singh - 2021-12-28

@Lydia Rudyk Maybe even before their sex I think so 😂😂😂

Robert Texas - 2021-12-08

I really enjoyed this video I find your thinking inline with mine. I told all 245 of my employees that they were more important then me . Not once but every time they tried to put me first. I gave them my reasoning for my observation. This very small gratitude that I showed them turned the company into a power house of our industry. It was an amazing transformation. My back ground BS in Physics and Bs in Mechanical Engineering.

Carrie - 2022-03-08

This is such a feel good video from a logical standpoint. Thank you for this ❤️

NRico - 2021-11-01

I found some logical fallacies here, from the research about hockey player being born in first quarter of year and that makes them being chosen more in a sport team is a good argument, but we don't know what advantages people that are born in last quarter/mid quarter of the year have.

We also don't know million other variable. e.g does being born in a middle class makes you work harder than people who got everything handed in a wealthy family? Does having many friends as a kid gives you any advantages as an adult? there are so much variables to our life you just don't know what thing will result in what. So I'd think that on average people has similar/equal chances, just different path.

One philosophy I like to just do things you should do and just hope for the best rather than being hooked on expectation. if you roll 2 dice 20 times you will get pair of sixes at least once, though nothing is guaranteed.

Lucas Venancio - 2022-03-08

WTF, I clicked on this video to know the answers to the title's question, I got it, but now I've also got tears in my eyes. Amazing storytelling. Thanks for that.

TheCrankyBob - 2020-12-02

My father liked to say “everything in life is decided by luck, but accepting that fact is bad luck.”

James Roscoe - 2021-11-02

@Jacky Chen I own a business most decisions are not like lottery tickets. They're driven by data. A company that relies on luck as it's primary strategy is going to fail. In fact most businesses failures are due to negligence or incompetence in some area not luck. While chance can play a role it's often a small one.

James Roscoe - 2021-11-02

@JIDAN GG hard work and talent are not luck at all. What are you talking about?

JIDAN GG - 2021-11-02

@James Roscoe talent should be considered as lucky too in my opinion, cause not everyone born to have talent. Example :u are talented in math but I am not.

NaViLlUs cIrE - 2022-01-22

So not accepting the truth is preferable to swallowing one's hollow pride? That was his 'wise' advice?

NaViLlUs cIrE - 2022-01-22

@James Roscoe

So if your business STILL failed despite doing everything right by the data yet another business ran by a seemingly incompetent idiot is thriving how is that NOT forces outside of your control determining your success or i.e. "luck"?

Timo Acker - 2021-12-12

Good video, as always. I do think the call to action at the end is a bit misguided. Knowing how much success is based on luck, shouldn't we try to even the playing field for those less lucky? It seems like at the end you define success as getting ahead, while others stay behind. Is this kind of success really the goal one should have?

nenenish - 2021-10-22

@veritasium, this is really interesting and it elicited curiosity on my side. I'd like to read the papers you mentioned in this video. Are all of your examples here from Robert Frank or did you also use other examples from other publications? (I would like to ask for the doi of the paper/journal you mentioned in this video.) Thanks in advance

Naman Sharma - 2022-01-22

In my interpretation, Luck is a function of time and place. Once we establish the role (value) of these two independent variables, we can see other circumstances unfloding.

Foxy Lovelace - 2021-11-02

This is the paradox I've been pondering for a long long time. Thank you.

Desmene - 2021-07-03

reminds me of a meme I once saw: "As a hiring manager, when I get a stack of resume's I immediately throw half of them out. I don't employ unlucky people."

DaddyCool69 - 2021-08-15

The initial shortlisting for this Company is really tough, Only 50% people make past it.
The initial shortlisting:

lookanlike2 - 2021-08-15

that was a greentext story lol

duc minh - 2021-09-11

@Pumpkin Thank you for giving me hope. My contract just end today and the company didn't extend it for me. So here I am, stuck in the middle of Covid lockdown with no income. At least I got hope that sth like yours gonna happen to me cause right now, I'm desperate with no hope.

Nodo Boho - 2021-10-09

@duc minh You have a computer and internet. There are thousands of jobs posted online. You are skilled enough to have had a contract job. You are desperate--a great motivator. All these things are strengths...use them. There is hope. Good "luck"!

Paul Dilley - 2021-11-23

I dunno, I've had to look through resumes before. I didn't look at any cover letters, but I skimmed every resume, basically judging by how professional they looked, if there were too many errors (one or two is fine), and if they added a website at the top I would take a look. A short mission/personal statement at the top of the resume (no more than 3 lines of text) can't hurt imo, and I read those too. A way to say what you're looking for.

So you could be perfect for the job, but it really needs to show in the resume. Once I got a resume from someone who was obviously qualified but they tried to put examples of their work ON the resume. It spanned 8 pages, and as it was programming code, it was nonsensical anyway. That's something to show off on your website!

Manuel Rendon - 2022-02-04

I absolutely loved this video, but there's a number of immense problems that were unmentioned and that typically rise when luck is accounted for in the collective consciousness. For example, having a higher luck percentage can be faked to a point. So people may start thinking that if they look lucky, they could be chosen for higher successes, which can be catastrophic in many ways. Another point is that the overall existence of our Human Species can be attributed to luck, yet our ability to become a type 1 civilization in the Kardashev scale can only be hindered by two factors, and believing in luck is one of them.

ImprovementGang - 2022-02-02

I am making a video about this! I always was troubled by not being tall enough, smart enough, being chosen out of luck, and so on. It was only until I faced my limits and decided to do the best with what was given to me that I started to change my life for good.

GlimmerOfLight - 2021-12-04

@Veritassium: thank you. Fun fact: the same stochastic math explains somthing I have been telling people for yers.
A very small genetic advantage explains a LOT of success in some sports.
People of African descent have a little advantage in sprint. Caucasians have some advantage in swimming.

To be clear, much as I feel sorry for folks like Christophe Lemaitre, I wouldn't want to split Olympic events based on race.
But I am glad we separate them based on gender: the advantage there is not small, compared to the one above ...
... yet still genetic. Morale: when you compete at top levels, a little systemic bias can have a huge effect.

Certified Clapaholic - 2021-12-13

It's the hard work which leads to more opportunities for lucky occurrences. So in a way, it's both, but you most likely will have to start with hard work to cultuvate good luck. Of course, some people are lucky and never have to put forth any hard work to gain positions of power or tons of money; however, they're rarely able to maintain success without hard work.

Danilo Teruya - 2020-08-28

When I was a kid, my dad used to tell me "If you study and work hard, nothing guarantees your success. But if you don't, you guarantee your failure."

Nowadays I find myself really lucky to have a dad that taught me that so early in life hehe

Thanks a lot, man. I really appreciate all of your videos, and I'm one of those that had the luck to be watching them since when vsauce posted about the weight of a shadow ahaha

tiefensucht - 2020-10-10

Richard Branson laughs about that.

G E T R E K T - 2021-04-04

Most people who are lottery winners are under class. There is no guarantee for anything, except death.

Shawn Quinn - 2021-04-06

there is that.

zsuuuuzs1 - 2021-05-18

L

angeldude101 - 2021-05-31

Funny, because I'm pretty sure I didn't work out study hard in high school and succeeded with high grades in several of my classes.

micah larimer - 2021-12-17

I love the point this ended on. I know far too many people who assume all their problems are due to someone else which is mentally imprisoning them. While believing they are 100% in control of their fate would be a lie, it would be a lie that would ultimately improve their lives. Politics in general does this to people, as a politician is always quick to tell you whose fault your problems are, and the answer is never your own inaction. Politicians also never talk about how lucky they must have gotten to get where they are . . .

Miss Danielson Maths - 2021-11-04

I just discovered you today and I'm hooked. I'm glad you were lucky enough to do so well so that I could be lucky enough to stumble across your amazing content! Keep up the amazing work!

aljebra school - 2021-11-12

You a very articulated Mathematician that I always like listening to as a student of Mathematics. You also bring out it's practicality in real world with your concise explanation which I use everyday on my channel.

Thanks for always inspiring us! 😘

Vesa T - 2022-03-03

I am a Math student as well, but Veritasium (or Derek Muller) has a Bachelor in Engineering Physics and a Ph.D. in physics education research. So he is technically not a mathematician, although some of his videos are about mathematics :)

CS - 2021-10-31

You are an incredible example of someone who wanted to do something and is doing exactly that. Great respect