When my sons play games, the younger of the two will often shout, “Hey! That’s not fair!”

What he means is that he’s unhappy with an outcome. It doesn’t usually involve fairness at all.

As adults, we don’t need an explanation about the difference between fairness and fortune. But it’s still a good idea for us to keep our emotions in check. It’s quite possible for us to feel like we’ve been treated unfairly, when really we just don’t like a particular outcome.

Fair means fair, usually in the form of impartiality or equal opportunity. It doesn’t mean that we’re guaranteed the outcome we desire.