The secret – Confusing coincidence with correlation?

Note for “The Secret” fans: I have nothing against “The Secret”. It’s a cool book. It is just that I don’t believe what is outlined in “The Secret” can be a standalone strategy for success.

I read “The Secret” a few months ago and it was a fascinating read. In a nutshell, the book is about “The Law of Attraction”.

The book is very well written with compilation of writings from several well known people.

The book and the DVD are also making waves.

It is one of those books that you can enjoy reading – so I didn’t have any problem about the book.

However, when I see millions of people embracing it as if it’s the next thing to sliced bread, I get confused. Why? Because if people can really change their lives by reading the book, this nation would be transformed by now and most of people’s problems would have disappeared.

No, I am not saying that the message of the book is wrong. It is just that people tend to take “tips and tricks” literally. A subset of people who are looking for an easy way of getting what they want may think that they got that way – all they have to do is STRONGLY WISH for what they want – and they will GET IT.

Even if the book does not prescribe that MERELY WISHING won’t work, those caveats are easily missed.

The reports and success stories (of a VERY SMALL percentage of people) will be highlighted. That would make many think that – “if they can do it, we can too”.

What they don’t question is – “Is this coincidence or is there a correlation”?