Luck & Power

There is a popular common troupe in anime where the protagonist has some kind of special advantage in the story. Naruto had Kurama, the nine tailed fox, in his belly from when he was a babe. There are like nine of those things and this fucker had the most powerful one. Ichigo was the son of a Reaper and a Quincy who was also infected by a hollow. Cool as hell but kind of unlikely. Tanjiro learned Hirukami Kagura from his dad. The super saiyans were these OP race, and then recently there was something special about the Gum Gum fruit as well. Kinda sus if you ask me. They call it plot armor, I've always considered it a given for the power fantasy genre. If you're going to escape into a fantasy world, away from the stuggles of your real life, why not imagine yourself to be the most powerful one of all?

Of course, there is an emergence of wonderful stories that subvert this troupe, in Mob Psycho 100, OPM, and now Mashle. So it's definitely a lot of fun and there's something cathartic about imagining yourself as inherently special. This is also common in American comic books, and even Indian mythologies. Life tends to feel quite opposite, though, and I think most people would agree. Whether it's going to school, work, or in any kind of group, the one who stands out must truly shine, otherwise they will be brutally beaten and admonished. Often the ones that do shine are portraying a smoke screen, as many people fake it till they make it, or until they're exposed anyway. Then there are people who are genuinely at the top of their game and ones that dominate from the shadows. No matter what field or perspective, all the action happens around power.

As they say, "Some are born into power, some fight hard to gain it, keep it, or give it away, while others have power thrust upon them." That's not the actual quote obviously, but I can't be bothered to look it up and this way I've made it my own, so I can say - Anirudh Gitai lol

It's funny how those things work, by the way. The original quote could have been from Shakesphere for all I care, but I fucking heard it from Game of Thrones. Might as well call it your own. Anyway, I want to explore the implications of that recurring narrative structure. On one hand, it seems to imply that the secret to be a billionare is to be born into a rich family. Just eat the Gum Gum fruit and you'll be the king of the pirates. Fucking have someone capture a tailed beast and seal it inside your body to become a Jinchuriki, and you're basically set for life. That's how a lot of people see it, and there's a good case to be made for it. It certainly takes all the pressure off the individual. You don't have to worry about how to make money because that's for hustlers and rich people. There's no point in trying to watch your weight and maintain fitness because you've got bad genes anyway.

Why bother reading books when you're an idiot and learning is so fucking difficult for you? Mark Manson has broken this down quite well and there's an ample amount of content about responcibility. My thing is that it's essentially the age-old debate of determinism vs free will. That's interesting to me because your stand on that seems to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Luffy would never have gotten this far unless he had chosen to suffer and undertaken those efforts. Tanjiro was in a similar position. The real question is, did those people really choose their behaviors, or were they compelled to do so? Obviously, this is the limit of storytelling. The characters were written in a way that they were obviously special. Luffy always believed in himself and Tanjiro was always industrious, kind, and compassionate.

Real people, however, are walking contradictions. We all want to be fit, but only so we can laze around without feeling guilty. We want to have a butt load of money, so that we can stop worrying about it. Obviously you're worried about money in the first place. The point of the contemplation is to bring the ideal of autonomy into reality. How does one actually change their situation? While there are certainly many different factors worth considering, one thing seems more important than the rest: It's never a singular event or the flip of a switch. It's always a continnum. You don't suddenly become powerful, you have to slowly build up to it, and then you have to constantly work to keep it. The moment you stop engaging, you start growing weaker. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. But not all of the world's problem belong to you.

As soon as you stop, you fall into a state of decay. Stagnation leads to decomposition. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it? Well, not really. In a vast majority of things, you progress naturally. You grow wiser with age, your mind becomes your greatest asset. I suppose it depends on your habits, the things you do on auto pilot. So you only really have to work hard in the beginning to create a solid foundation. After that, it's more about iteration rather than hard work. Nuance, polish, and touch becomes more important. Pushes turn to nudges and turns become tilts. Somewhere along the way, you lose yourself to the journey. I suppose the point is that we all have some gifts and potential for greatness. It looks different for everyone, but we all have something to aspire to. The mind doesn't take interest in things that are truly out of reach, and in some way or another, we are all lucky.

Ultimately, it's a matter of perspective. The abyssmally poor are not fortunate in this world. There are no two ways about it. If you're living in poverty and you're illiterate, you are stuck in another world, and it's almost impossible to get out. Yet, even in that hopeless situation, there are sometimes glimmers of light. It's not the sole responcibility of the rich to lift up the poor, but it is crutial to provide opportunities. For us, it's about getting something useful out of a tragedy. A beggar can hardly become a king, but perhaps we can set him up as a janitor. That way, at least his children can go to school and then they can take advantage of being connected with the rest of humanity. There is nothing to be done, however, if the beggar simply accepts his fate. We all have our own battles to fight. I think the confusion lies in the execution. People think that someone who tries to dig themselves out of a hole suddenly starts shitting gold and farting rainbows.

In truth, it's a life of constant struggle and unbearable suffering... until it isn't. There's this randomized rogue-like game called The Binding of Issac. (rougue-likes are games that have levels of dungeons, in which you start each run with nothing, and lose all items upon death. Progress is made through item unlocks.) I don't imagine there are many better simulators of luck in action that computer programs. That's why a particularly entertaining and successful twitch streamer + YouTuber by the name of LazyMattman felt like an appropriate case study with this context. The man plays multiple runs every single day and live streams them on twitch. He has work ethic and a thorough understanding of his role as a content creator. Most Isaac runs are brutal. You get shit items and since things are so randomized, it ends up feeling like gambling. That's prolly because it is gambling, by definition. Anywho, check out his channel on YouTube, and you feel like this man is the luckiest palyer in the world.

All items in the game have a numeric value based on their quality. They go from quality zero, being the worst, to quality fours, which are the best items in the game. This man seems to find quality 4s in every fricking run he uploads. What's more, his content is educational for other players, because he has learned to rig the game in his favor to the highest extent. Obviously, he must be starting restarting runs to a certain extent until he finds good ones, although I feel like that's uncommon for him still. Regardless, the man has perfectly exemplefied the entire game of luck through his body of work. In any given run, there are about 500 items, around 20 of which are quality fours. Then there are many other aspects to consider, but you can imagine to find a success rate of ten percent or so. So, if you play ten runs, are you guaranteed to find great items? Many players do restart runs until they find a good start. None of them are quite as successful as Mark, though.

It might seem silly to take this random content creator as a case study in luck, but I think there's something to learn from him. After all, the competition is pretty cut throat for content creators like him, and Isaac is a relatively unpopular game. One of the main points is quite clear: as you keep engaging with any process, your chances of success go up. This is not to say that you can feel it happening, though. Any player is all to familiar with the occassional humbling moment when they make a stupid mistake even after so much experience. Losing isn't fun either. It fucking sucks and you feel like taking breaks because you get burned out. I often think to myself, this is what I do for fun? What's fucking wrong with me!? Indeed, Isaac runs can be quite stressful. Yet you lose anyway, and you keep playing. You get frustrated, take a break, and then you feel like continuing the next day or week. It's because somewhere along the way, you start to love the process.

You learn to shake off the failures more easily. That's the secret of progress in a game where you lose your shit with each run, by the way. It's why it doesn't really work if you restart each time you don't get a good item. I mean you can do it a few times in frustration, the game is rather horrible with quality ones and zeros, but you learn to rig the game only through your failures. All this is cliche in the world of motivation, but it's interesting how it plays out in recreation. Nobody gets paid to play this game, but people like Matt are successful because millions of people play it anyway. There is no sensible explaination or productive pleasure to derive from this hellish loop of a game. The enjoyment comes from the enaggement itself. It comes from the competency you gain through learning to rig it. It also comes from the sense of community through the online world, and the autonomy the player experiences in any particular run. There are a hundered different ways to rig the game, and a hundred different preferences.

Ultimately, luck has little to do with power. The people born into power are lucky, but they are also at a disadvantage. They don't have the skills and ability required to wield it. That's why, even if you find that awesome quality four start, it makes you feel even more miserable when you lose with it. So you feel like this game is bullshit and you fucking hate it. Uninstall. 0 stars. Oh but what's this? Your negative review have a 1:50 like to dislike ratio. Those fucking trolls are toxic tho, fucking nerds hunched over their computer screens, taking the time to enagge with strangers online over pixels. You're not like those losers. Instead, you go out for a run, eat a salad, and make yourself feel big online by sharing it on IG. That's better. You're social, unlike some people you know. Now, obviously there are more worthwhile things to engage with than computer simulations, but any of those things boil down to the same bare components, so why hate on a player for playing?

The point is, that power actually becomes a burden in this sense. Very much a destructive curse rather than a blessing. Those who have the most, also have the most to live up to. The luckiest of all can end up being the most miserable. The thing is, results take a long time, and you have to see things through to the end. The super powerful tychoon might never have to worry about his next meal, but he is also more likely to suffer from diabetes and heart attacks. What's more, if he is to keep his diet under control, the constant temptaions around him actually become a nusance, whereas the poor laborer never has to worry about the actual contents of his meals. So what happens near the end? The tycoon is hooked up to machines, trapped in his own body, alienated from a vast majority of people and surrounded by enemies. The luckiest of all are the ones who are given a balanced support. They have maternal and paternal influences that give them all they need to deal with the shit storm of reality. Yet, in the presense of such influences they grow dependant, and are devestated when that support disintegrates.

Meanwhile the regular person who's never seen a shred of luck has some great potential for it in the future. The unlucky person is far from the world of power. More than a lack of economic pillars to support their endeavors, they often lack the physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional abilities to make something of themselves. Yet they live in this harsh reality and learn to survive. They find what little pleasure they can, learn to work hard and keep their head down. What's missing is the element of choice. He/she has no say in their situation. They have to work hard and break their backs. They are forced by their parents to earn for the family, and fall into these horrible cycles of misery. Except, they do have an option. With the lack of a sizeable home, they can leave on foot and go as far away as they want. They can also choose to sit around like a beggar, and there's always the option to start doing drugs. The lack of choice is a matter of perception. Like the beggar tries their luck in different areas, trying to run all kinds of scams for their next fix, so can Isaac players choose to start new runs until they get lucky. But until they decide to make a stand, any real progress would be slow and painful.

And how is that different from the rich heir? He/She didn't have a say in being born, and now they have to go to school and study while their ancestors herded sheep in scenic pastures. While one is forced to a pursure a life of legitimate power, the other is forced to pursure it illegally. While the beggar has to always be on the run, going from one place to another, the king is forced to stay firmly rooted in one place. Both have their pleasures and their pains. But looking at them side by side, it's easy to see that the crinimal has a much harded life of the two. Being driven by fear and insecurity, their actions lead to even greater anxieties. Being forceful while feeling forced, they are forced to sumbit to the will of the majority, or forced to sleep with one eye open. Clearly, it's more demanding to be a criminal. In terms of pure individual ability, they have to excel. Truly excellent criminals also learn to harness the power found in groups. So luck and power are distinct from one another, although they are related. The problems occur when people choose to settle with half truths and use luck as an excuse to pursue greater ability.

With a clear awareness of the full picture, it might be just a little easier for people to accept their situations and have more compassion for the struggles of others. Although, if you were astute enough while reading, you might realize that this topic is very much realted to questions of justice and morality, but that is a discussion for another time.