First you give lucky numbers a go. Sometimes you get lucky, but rarely. Eventually these get boring.

Then you discover spreadsheets... hey, maybe I can do this... see something every one else is missing...

Eventually, you want to do more than the standard functions provide, so you may learn enough VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) to make a few simple macros. You soon discover that you have ideas your limited experience with VBA is unable to explore.

Enter the programming languages... there are many and each serves a purpose, but in my case it is Python. Of the languages I have studied, Python is closer to how I think... easier to go from idea to results. There is a learning curve, but it is a powerful tool to bring ideas to realization.

Many along the path find a comfort zone and stay there. Some push further...

I am at my comfort zone with Excel and Python.

Now we have the vibe coders who can pull software out of thin air with the use of AI. They may or may not understand the results, but it is a more accessible route to bringing an idea to life than the steep learning curve of direct coding.

Yet here we all are with years put in to solving an impossible problem via many routes... yet it remains unsolved.

Some play more tickets, some are cheap and stick to strict budgets (my take), some just have dumb luck and win regularly without any of the time invested in understanding the process...

Yet here we are continuing...

I wonder sometimes why?