The Luck Factor

People seem to think that luck is a thing of chance—being fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. Or, if youre unlucky, the wrong place at the wrong time. But according to Dr Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, people are not born lucky. Rather, they create their own luck through their mental attitudes and behaviour.

Wiseman, who used to be a professional magician, spent nearly a decade investigating the science of luck. He …