Some are born lucky, so the left shouldn’t flinch from giving others a helping hand | Sonia Sodha

When we mistakenly believe we live in a meritocracy, those in need are left behind

Life is a game of chance. Or that’s what I tell myself when I’m losing at my newest hobby, poker. Of course it’s a different story when I win the pot: then I chalk it up to skill. So it was crushing to hear an experienced player’s take when I fessed up to the fact I seem to do worse when I’m trying to play well. “That’s because no strategy is better than a bad strategy: it makes you harder to predict than a very basic game plan.” That’s me told.

This is partly what it is to be human. We like to attribute our successes to effort and talent, but when we fail it’s more comforting to blame bad luck. The more successful someone is, the more marked this tendency becomes and it has a knock-on impact on how we understand the world more generally.

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