If you're lucky, 2+2=5

Today I wanted to show you something different, something I wrote long time ago and I wanted to share. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Pepa. xx

 

If you’re lucky, 2+2=5

Numbers. We love to count, measure, quantify, express the world through math formulas. We are able to turn any moment into a simple equation; we reduce everything to statistics and probabilities. We want to know our chances. 

Luck doesn’t exist anymore, it has been replaced by counting. We have stopped crossing our fingers when we wish something, instead we calculate our chance of winning. Wishing on a star is a thing of the past, if probabilities don’t reach 50%, it’s better to give up. Statistics don’t lie. 

I hate Math, it doesn’t leave free space for feelings, coincidences and changes. A Shakespeare’s play can be interpreted in many different ways, it depends on the lector’s mood. Math can’t, 2+2 will always be 4, regardless of your thoughts. Boring, isn’t it? Numbers are logical, rational, realistic, constant and unchanging. Why do we insist in reducing our life to something so distant from our nature? Wouldn’t it be better to measure everything with glitter, candy floss or smiles? That would definitely be a good method…”What chances do I have of becoming an astronaut? One in a million. Right, but how huge would my smile be? Yeah, it worth it.”

I believe statistics leave out part of the truth. When they try to assure something they never give us the 100%, but always a number around 98 or 99%, just to save their ass in case of error. I wonder in which statistics I am that 1% left, it’d be great to know it, to feel special and different from the rest of the people.

In reality, statistics are only a try to measure the water inside the bottle, always half empty. I don’t like to see it that way, I prefer to do it at a guess and decide if there is enough water for me. If I can choose, I prefer to put the bottle horizontal and pretend there is more water than there really is. And numbers, obvious, sincere and hard, don’t allow me to do it. 

What can I say? I’m not one for science, I studied Arts. I like to cross my finger, make wishes upon shooting stars, blow dandelions and fallen eyelashes. I trust my luck and possibilities, and if the fortune chooses me I’ll thank her and enjoy the moment. I’m here thanks to wishes and dreams that came true, and believe me when I say I’ve never understood a probability table. 

In the end, the things that make us feel special, happy and unique are the most improbable: passing an exam we thought we’ve failed, warm weather in a February day or finding love in someone close. What do statistics have to say about it?