I think thats quite different.

Brushing against someone to end a relationship, or going for a walk to meet someone you wouldnt have otherwise. These are things that are not beyond you normally, the potion just makes you, or suggests you do one over the other.

Choosing numbers in a lottery... there is no way to know before hand what they will be, as they are random (or should be).

Felix doesn't seem to predict the future, it just knows the best possible thing at this very moment.

 

You mean like getting a good feeling about certain numbers?

 

Or late getting a good feeling its time to go let the computer pick your numbers for you? Like too many things, I believe the potion is something that should be best understood in the context of the story, and not thought too hard about outside of that.

 

Really, I think wizards who wanted to find ways to make money off of muggles would probably find an easier way to do it than taking some ultra-rare and incredibly hard to make luck potion, then playing the lottery. After all, from what we've seen a large portion of the wizarding world doesn't really care how wizards abuse muggles so long as they don't risk breaking the masquerade.

 

Well, given how time travel works in Harry Potter, it's not at all out of the question that a potion as magically potent as Felix Felicis could rely upon future information.

Also, IIRC the bite of the Mackled Malaclaw is described in Fantastic Beasts as causing bad luck and that those afflicted should call off wagers and bets, so there's no canon reason to say Felix Felicis can't convey future information in some way.

 

Wagers and bets arent based on chance, usually.

Placing a wager on someone running the 100m in 8 seconds is stupid, but something you might do once you eat Mandrake.

But there is no way to make a good or bad call on betting on the lottery.

 

Similar to gambling? I'd argue that Felix could help you pick the numbers on the roulette table, so why not the lottery?

 

In the former, you're waiting on a number to land. In the latter, you volunteer and write the numbers. And while Felicis has a history of helping people say the right things at the right time, to do it so precisely in rapid sequence seems like a reach. One might say that the former situation gives context and time for Felicis to work its magic. Whereas the latter does not.

Whether or not you want to be concerned with that speculative demarcation. Passive v. active. Time and context requirements.

 

I don't think the potion could be used to win the lottery. It is an extremely useful potion if used properly, but I still think there are reasonable bounds of its capabilities. It's not like wizards took Felix and suddenly an idea formed out of all the possible wand movements and incantations to create an ultra-powerful spell.

I view it more as increasing the good fortune of the user, not supplying astronomical odds for them or gaining knowledge they would normally have no way of reaching. For example, they might feel an urge to talk to someone nearby if the conversation will prove to be profitable, but wouldn't feel an urge to randomly apparate to Diagon Alley, and visit a random shop to talk to someone that would benefit them.

They might have lowered inhibitions and mention something to a friend that will get them some valuable information in return, but wouldn't randomly know a deep, dark secret someone had and be able to use it.

 

Coming up with a new invention is not a matter of luck; the lottery is. It's a luck potion. Winning a random selection is entirely down to luck.

 

Remember Ron? He thought he drank the Felix potion and did a perfect game. I'd laugh my ass of if the inventor of this stuff just made a placebo potion and told everyone it gave you good luck.
Remember friends luck is also a state of mind.

 

You might be able to stumble on a way to prove P = NP or disprove it, though.
It'd probably require prior knowledge and the question is whether you'd actually understand what you did afterwards, but still.

 

I can think of several pretty major inventions/discoveries that happened more-or-less by accident, though. Or situations where the inventor received inspiration/made a breakthrough from an unlikely source. I doubt it would just let some spontaneously invent something, but I could certainly see the potion leading to a eureka moment on a project they'd already been working on.

 

Seems to me that the reasons for not taking felix regularly (overconfidence, brash behavior, etc..) aren't the bad to detract people from consuming it regularly, other than the fact that its hard as hell to brew

 

Felix in canon makes you more prone to making exactly the right decisions at exactly the right time. It could be called a Luck Potion, but its more or less a nootropic reagent and slight psychedelic augmenting cognition and reasoning skills with somewhat sentient magic. The "luck" you experience is gained through insight and subconscious reasoning and reaction done by the magic of Felix.

As per what I would do with it, it would probably be to go take my MCAT again or to write my application essays or to go to an interview for admissions on it.

 

I think I would take Felix just to see what could happen. On no particular day just take it and see what happens.

 

mm,, guys?

please remember that part of the effect of FF is a slightly drunken-like behaviour of the drinker.

i'm not sure if it's because harry uses too much (more than one drop) or just because it is,

but it doesn't necessarily give you the best cognitive ability.

but it DO give you the uncanny chance that whatever you do turns out OK.

as such, imma gonna use it to make sure the checkpoint of my life, ie: proposing to SO, interviewing with a new job, meeting with significant would be client, etc is going smoothly.

i mean, yes, it's not exactly chance based, but an extra bit of luck going there won't hurt, no?

 

I like the idea that Felix simply concentrates luck -- so anything that goes right during the dose is essentially burning your future luck. So, if you use Felix to easily accomplish a difficult task, your next few days are full of broken cups and stubbed toes. If, however, you use Felix to easily accomplish a nigh impossible task, your next few weeks are full of potentially deadly accidents and dangerously bad luck. Which I think explains why people don't use it for everything, even life or death situations. Also, in my head, Felix would cost several hundred Galleons to even brew, aswell as roughly 6 months prep and 6 more months to brew, for each batch which I'd say contains 7 days worth of luck. Factor in labour costs and 12 hours Felix should be worth roughly 250 Galleons from a Master Potioneer and since I put a Galleon at 50-100 GBP then it's simply not usable for most. The problem with this is that Slughorn gives a bottle away for nothing, but he may well have had some sitting around for years and wanted to make an extremely showy entrance, he is Head of Slytherin after all, and desperately wanted to impress Harry. He might've been planning to give it to him all along. But I digress.

Felix isn't an instant win button, essentially.

 

I think felix felicis potion is just what they say in the book, "liquefied luck", I mean its magic it can do anything and it probably easier in magical terms to make someone lucky than to make them more aware so they make the best decisions.

Personally i would just drink when something important is happening like a possibility of a promotion or some really dangerous shit you need to survive.

 

Do you guys think it could work on an exam, especially multiple choices ? I agree that the potion cannot give you knowledge you didn't have before taking it, but for questions where you don't know the answer, could it give you an hint toward the right answer ?

Anyway, I would try it on a board exam on something !