Created through testing and sorting

Below is a dial which can test if a penny is lucky or not, how lucky it is in percentage and what it is lucky for. This can work as an object on its own or it could be used as a tool by which to deduct a collection of pennies. The circuit is controlled by an arduino which is programmed to turn a servo motor by a random amount each time the circuit is complete. Even though it is obvious that this cannot seriously be testing for luck, does seeing a physical output still make it more believable?





Below is another way a penny can be tested for luck but this time as a portable object which can be worn. The user can test pennies as they find them on the ground, collecting the ones which light the green LED and discarding those which light the red LED. Again this object can be used as one in its own right or can be used as part of a larger process.



There are many crossovers within this all. For example the pin drop illustrated below can be used as a deduction tool for many pennies, yet at the same time can be used with just one penny to test if it is lucky or not: if it falls into a particular slot it is deemed lucky, if it falls anywhere else it is not.

Created through deduction

I have looked at the process of deduction in previous posts and here is another way of finding the lucky penny. This is a series of separate objects which can be used to deduct a set of coins until only the winning (lucky) penny is left. The problem that has arisen with this and with that of the coin pin drop is that it is very much based on chance; there is a possibility that more than one coin will be left, or equally none at all.

update

I am currently further exploring how luck can become something believable and how it can be given some form of logic; my aim? To ultimately quash superstition cynicism. I am doing this by creating a series of design iterations to question if and when luck becomes more than just a belief. These are taking the form of machines, sets of objects and processes.