The Random Factor : How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World around Us

Rank, Mark Robert

University of California Press（2024/04発売）

University of California Press（2024/04発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 302 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780520390966
• DDC分類 123.3

Full Description

A poverty expert reveals how truly random the world is—including how economic inequality is experienced—and how we can learn to acknowledge chance and appreciate it. 
 
It's comforting to think that we can be successful because we work hard, climb ladders, and get what we deserve, but each of us has been profoundly touched by randomness. Chance is shown to play a crucial role in shaping outcomes across history, throughout the natural world, and in our everyday lives. In The Random Factor, Mark Robert Rank draws from a wealth of evidence, including interviews and research, to explain how luck and chance play out and reveals how we can use these lessons to guide our personal lives and public policies.
 
The Random Factor traverses luck from macro to micro, from events like the Cuban Missile Crisis to our personal encounters and relationships. From his perspective as a scholar of poverty, Rank also delves into the class and race dynamics of chance, emphasizing the stark disparities it brings to light. This transformative book prompts a new understanding of the twists and turns in our daily lives and encourages readers to fully appreciate the surprising world of randomness in which we live.

Contents

Contents

1 The Wheel of Fortune 

I. The World Around Us
2 The Arc of History 
3 The Natural World 
4 Luck in Everyday Life 

II. The Patterns of Our Lives
5 The Lottery of Birth 
6 Who, What, Where, and When 
7 Shortcuts, Detours, and Forks in the Road 

III. Lessons Learned
8 Retooling Policies 
9 Reflecting and Assessing
10 Our Unpredictable Companion 

Acknowledgments 
Notes 
Bibliography 
Index