--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why is the human need to be in control…" description: "\"“Why is the human need to be in control relevant to a discussion of random patterns? Because if events are random, we are not in control, and if we are..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/leonard-mlodinow-7753_quote_why-is-the-human-need-to-be-in-control-r_1229082.jpg" --- # Why is the human need to be in control relevant to a… ![“Why is the human need to be in control relevant to a discussion of random patterns? Because if events are random, we are not in control, and if we are in control of events, they are not random, there is therefore a fundamental clash between our need to feel we are in control and our ability to…” quote by Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/leonard-mlodinow-7753_quote_why-is-the-human-need-to-be-in-control-r_1229082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/leonard-mlodinow-7753_quote_why-is-the-human-need-to-be-in-control-r_1229082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/leonard-mlodinow-7753_quote_why-is-the-human-need-to-be-in-control-r_1229082.jpg) > ““Why is the human need to be in control relevant to a discussion of random patterns? Because if events are random, we are not in control, and if we are in control of events, they are not random, there is therefore a fundamental clash between our need to feel we are in control and our ability to recognize randomness. That clash is one of the principal reasons we misinterpret random events. In fact, inducing people to mistake luck for skills, or pointless actions for control, is one of the easiest enterprises a research psychologist can engage in ask people to control flashing lights by pressing a dummy button, and they will believe they are succeeding even though the lights are flashing at random. Show people a circle of lights that flash at random and tell them that by concentrating they can cause the flashing to move in clockwise direction, and they will astonish themselves with their ability to make it happen.”” [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People overestimate control over random events, leading to misinterpretations of luck as skill. **In simple terms:** We think we control randomness, but we don’t. Key Takeaway Recognize randomness, avoid false sense of control. Themes cognition probability bias decision making Mood skeptical analytical curious Type psychological educational informative When to use this quote - gambling - stock trading - scientific experiments - daily decision making Key Concepts Illusion of control randomness perception skill attribution Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate skill from luck? - What strategies reduce illusion of control? A Different Perspective Human tendency to see patterns can cause false confidence in control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Control Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-ability-339785/) [Random Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/random-control-3794316/) [Random events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/random-events/) [Randomness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/randomness/) [Randomness Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/randomness-clash-3794317/) ## Related quotes > [“We humans are the victims of an asymmetry in the perception of random events. We attribute our successes to our skills, and our failures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-humans-are-the-victims-of-an-asymmetry-in-the-perception-of-random/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Regression toward the mean. That is, in any series of random events an extraordinary event is most likely to be followed, due purely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/regression-toward-the-mean-that-is-in-any-series-of-random-events-an/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [When we are in the grasp of illusion - or, for that matter, whenever we have a new idea - instead of searching for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/when-we-are-in-the-grasp-of-illusion-or-for-that-matter-whenever-we/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [“Einstein had, for the first time connected new and measurable consequences to statistical physics. That might sound like a largely technical achievement, but on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/einstein-had-for-the-first-time-connected-new-and-measurable/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Because the question for me was always whether that shape we see in our lives was there from the beginning or whether these random…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/because-the-question-for-me-was-always-whether-that-shape-we-see-in/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Cancer is the emergent property of the accumulated errors in an ordered system. It's the consequences of random events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-popkes/cancer-is-the-emergent-property-of-the-accumulated-errors-in-an/) [Steven Popkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-popkes/) > [Our success should not be a random event, but the result of conscious actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-jeary/our-success-should-not-be-a-random-event-but-the-result-of-conscious/) [Tony Jeary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-jeary/) > [“We take random events and we put them together in a pattern so we can comfort ourselves with a story, no matter how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/we-take-random-events-and-we-put-them-together-in-a-pattern-so-we-can/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [You know, there’s a philosopher who says, “As you live your life, it appears to be anarchy and chaos, and random events, non-related events,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-walsh/you-know-there-s-a-philosopher-who-says-as-you-live-your-life-it/) [Joe Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-walsh/) > [It is a secret from nobody that the famous random event is most likely to arise from those parts of the world where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-is-a-secret-from-nobody-that-the-famous-random-event-is-most/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“These appear to be random events, unrelated at this time, so, naturally they bear watching.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/special-agent-dale-cooper/these-appear-to-be-random-events-unrelated-at-this-time-so-naturally/) [Special Agent Dale Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/special-agent-dale-cooper/) > [Our lives today are not conducted in linear terms. They are much more quantified; a stream of random events is taking place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/our-lives-today-are-not-conducted-in-linear-terms-they-are-much-more/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Sickness is real. However, I've seen too many people suffering with sicknesses not of their own choosing to say glibly that all sickness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/sickness-is-real-however-i-ve-seen-too-many-people-suffering-with/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [The ability to see our lives as stories rather than unrelated, random events increases the possibility for significant and purposeful action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-taylor/the-ability-to-see-our-lives-as-stories-rather-than-unrelated-random/) [Daniel Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-taylor/) > [If you so choose, each day can be filled with even more joy than the one before. If you so choose, even the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-marston/if-you-so-choose-each-day-can-be-filled-with-even-more-joy-than-the/) [Ralph Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-marston/) ## More by Leonard Mlodinow > [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [I always liked movies, so I started writing for Hollywood, but my day job was physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/i-always-liked-movies-so-i-started-writing-for-hollywood-but-my-day/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [“At the University of Bologna, there was another bizarre twist on what is the norm today: students fined their professors for unexcused absence or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/at-the-university-of-bologna-there-was-another-bizarre-twist-on-what/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [“The first step in battling the illusion of control is to be aware of if. But even then it is difficult, once we think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/the-first-step-in-battling-the-illusion-of-control-is-to-be-aware-of/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Social connection is such a basic feature of human experience that when we are deprived of it, we suffer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/social-connection-is-such-a-basic-feature-of-human-experience-that/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [You have to have passion for a subject to write about it. You can't expect your readers to feel any excitement if it's nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/you-have-to-have-passion-for-a-subject-to-write-about-it-you-can-t/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [We routinely participate in elaborate nonverbal exchanges even when we are not consciously aware of doing so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/we-routinely-participate-in-elaborate-nonverbal-exchanges-even-when/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Touch seems to be such an important tool for enhancing social cooperation and affiliation that we have evolved a special physical route along which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/touch-seems-to-be-such-an-important-tool-for-enhancing-social/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [“In fact, when some wedding guest inevitably complains about the seating arrangements, you might point out how long it would have taken you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/in-fact-when-some-wedding-guest-inevitably-complains-about-the/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Whether it's fiction or nonfiction, writing takes me to another world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/whether-it-s-fiction-or-nonfiction-writing-takes-me-to-another-world/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Says Bargh: "We all hold dear idea that we´re the captain of our own sould, and we´re in charge, and it´s a very scary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/says-bargh-we-all-hold-dear-idea-that-we-re-the-captain-of-our-own/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [My best subjects were chemistry and math.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/my-best-subjects-were-chemistry-and-math/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [We should keep in mind that it is easy to concoct stories explaining the past or to become confident about dubious scenarios of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/we-should-keep-in-mind-that-it-is-easy-to-concoct-stories-explaining/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Subliminal is about how we misinterpret our behavior because were unaware of what our unconscious minds are doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/subliminal-is-about-how-we-misinterpret-our-behavior-because-were/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [I've always loved science, as far back as I can remember. I was very, very curious about how everything worked: the world, the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/i-ve-always-loved-science-as-far-back-as-i-can-remember-i-was-very/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) [Explore all 88 Leonard Mlodinow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) ## More Random events quotes > [If you so choose, each day can be filled with even more joy than the one before. If you so choose, even the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-marston/if-you-so-choose-each-day-can-be-filled-with-even-more-joy-than-the/) [Ralph Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-marston/) > [The ability to see our lives as stories rather than unrelated, random events increases the possibility for significant and purposeful action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-taylor/the-ability-to-see-our-lives-as-stories-rather-than-unrelated-random/) [Daniel Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-taylor/) > [Sickness is real. However, I've seen too many people suffering with sicknesses not of their own choosing to say glibly that all sickness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/sickness-is-real-however-i-ve-seen-too-many-people-suffering-with/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [Our lives today are not conducted in linear terms. They are much more quantified; a stream of random events is taking place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/our-lives-today-are-not-conducted-in-linear-terms-they-are-much-more/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [“These appear to be random events, unrelated at this time, so, naturally they bear watching.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/special-agent-dale-cooper/these-appear-to-be-random-events-unrelated-at-this-time-so-naturally/) [Special Agent Dale Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/special-agent-dale-cooper/) > [“We humans are the victims of an asymmetry in the perception of random events. We attribute our successes to our skills, and our failures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-humans-are-the-victims-of-an-asymmetry-in-the-perception-of-random/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [It is a secret from nobody that the famous random event is most likely to arise from those parts of the world where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-is-a-secret-from-nobody-that-the-famous-random-event-is-most/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [You know, there’s a philosopher who says, “As you live your life, it appears to be anarchy and chaos, and random events, non-related events,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-walsh/you-know-there-s-a-philosopher-who-says-as-you-live-your-life-it/) [Joe Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-walsh/) > [“We take random events and we put them together in a pattern so we can comfort ourselves with a story, no matter how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/we-take-random-events-and-we-put-them-together-in-a-pattern-so-we-can/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [Our success should not be a random event, but the result of conscious actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-jeary/our-success-should-not-be-a-random-event-but-the-result-of-conscious/) [Tony Jeary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-jeary/) > [Cancer is the emergent property of the accumulated errors in an ordered system. It's the consequences of random events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-popkes/cancer-is-the-emergent-property-of-the-accumulated-errors-in-an/) [Steven Popkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-popkes/) > [Because the question for me was always whether that shape we see in our lives was there from the beginning or whether these random…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/because-the-question-for-me-was-always-whether-that-shape-we-see-in/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [When you expand your awareness, seemingly random events will be seen to fit into a larger purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/when-you-expand-your-awareness-seemingly-random-events-will-be-seen/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“A random event, by definition, does not lend itself to explanation, but collections of random events do behave in a highly regular fashion. Imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/a-random-event-by-definition-does-not-lend-itself-to-explanation-but/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Regression toward the mean. That is, in any series of random events an extraordinary event is most likely to be followed, due purely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/regression-toward-the-mean-that-is-in-any-series-of-random-events-an/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) [Browse all 17 Random events quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/random-events/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why is the human need to be in control relevant to a discussion of random patterns? 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