Although England’s Cambridge University lies over 4,000 miles from the legendary Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee, the big questions about life are much the same in both places.

Yes, the academics in Cambridge obviously take a more formal approach to their intellectual pursuits, but do they really differ that much from the men’s gloom and doom quartet on Hee-Haw?

No matter how one talks about luck however, either with a posh cut-glass English accent or with the twang of Hee-Haw’s Kornfield Kounty, its role remains a bit of a mystery to us. In fact, this mystery of luck is so central to our lives that it has been discussed, written, and even sung about for thousands of years.

Speaking of Cambridge University, one of my favorite books, entitled simply Luck, comes from a Cambridge man—Ed Smith. Not only did Ed earn a degree from Cambridge, but he went on to play professional cricket and has now turned his gifted hand and voice to writing and broadcasting.

The cover of his 2012 book Luck is, for better or worse, adorned with a pair of dice—which might lead you to think that he is giving betting advice. Fortunately, if I might use that word, he steers clear of the gambling scene and instead concentrates on the sometimes subtle, yet incredibly important, role that luck plays in our lives. With his crisp thinking and writing, he avoids the self-centeredness that often accompanies the question of how we may have benefited, or been sidetracked, by luck’s good or bad moods.

He knows that there a fine line when looking at luck. Either we are far too serious about it—as if the Fates are interested in us and us alone—or we swing to the other extreme and simply shrug our shoulders with “stuff just happens.”

Ed Smith is certainly a man who knows success—academically, on the sporting field, and now as a writer. Yet he never falls into that annoying fake humility of “Aw shucks it ain’t nothing.” “I was just in the right place at the right time.” In fact, although he does talk of his experiences, his goal is to guide all of us to re-examine how we think about luck.

We form our concepts of luck through our culture, society, religious beliefs, intellectual foundations, and a lot of experience. Since luck might be viewed differently in Austria, America, or Australia, it is hard to even define. Luck is personal and an observer has to be careful in trying to say what was luck and what was not in someone else’s life. Additionally, even the world’s best thinkers can find themselves in seriously deep intellectual waters with this topic if they are not careful.

Smith avoids these potholes by asking, on our behalf, the pertinent questions and not trying to force answers on us. Yes, he is a sportsman, but this is not a sports book. Instead he uses his background as a springboard to ponder “When luck is good, can we, or more importantly should we, take all credit for our accomplishments?” “In turn, when luck is bad is it our fault?” “Do those who succeed or fail deserve to? If so, how often and under what circumstances?”

We like to think of ourselves as the authors of our successes. Sadly, we also often view those who have suffered setbacks in life as being in some way responsible for their misfortunes. True, we can often be the authors of both success and problems, but where is the line between the two? Where, and when, are our actions overwritten by random, even capricious, good or bad luck? Not so simple is it?

Outwardly we acknowledge luck as an intangible in our lives, but seldom do we admit that it has played a leading role. We view it as a simple handmaiden to our firm belief that good luck is our hard work while bad luck is due to our carelessness or lack of effort.

In this scenario, the person at the top is there because of his/her perseverance, work ethic, and talent. Success, in this view, can be stamped out like a product on an assembly line. Ingrained in our souls is the maxim that heaven helps those who help themselves—end of story. Ah, if it were only so simple!

Smith examines the times in his life when he was lucky and the “breaks” went his way. Since his father taught at an exclusive all-boys preparatory school, Ed enjoyed an excellent free education where he had access to such high-quality sporting fields that it was not until he played on the hallowed Lords cricket ground in London that he witnessed anything quite as good. Even though it was his sister who was the better, and more natural, athlete, it was Ed who was afforded the better opportunities to excel—certainly a flicker of luck’s whims.

He is careful with the terms. He describes Fate as being more or less fixed (even predestined if you will), while luck is more random and quirkier. Disagree? He welcomes your doubts, for he is not trying to convert you to any single idea, but rather have a discussion with you.

Once the terminology is out of the way he wrestles with what I consider the heart of the matter—the fine line between meritocracy and luck. Who has not asked themselves such questions as: “If those who succeed do so because of hard work and luck, what about those who fail or struggle?” “What if cancer befalls them or they are the victim of a terrible crime?” Most importantly; “How are we supposed to assign responsibility for something that, for the most part, is out of our control?”

Smith is in his stride with such questions. He tells of his interview with James Watson—yes, the very same James Watson who, along with Francis Crick, discovered DNA. Watson tells how there was a young Cal-Tech chemist by the name of James Donahue who was visiting and researching in the same laboratory. Even though Donahue was doing completely different work, it was he who passed along a crucial insight into chemistry. In turn, this tip proved vital to unlocking the door to the structure of DNA. Luck? Watson thinks it was.