… they are in my country, at least for people who want to attend a university.
I realize myself that the lottery is a tax on lack of statistical knowledge. I still occasionally play it because if I don’t play, then the probability of winning (and never having to work for money again) is 0, and I can easily afford to occasionally buy a lottery ticket.
Your odds of finding the winning ticket on the sidewalk about about the same as buying it. So I walk around once in a while looking for winning tickets. I haven’t found one yet, but who knows. Bonus - I get some much needed exercise in the process.
Where I am the lottery funds a lot of smaller museums and some other community things like that so in my mind when I buy a lottery ticket I’m donating money to those causes rather than just trying to win.
This is why probability needs to be taught, and taught properly. This line of logic clearly demonstrates the problem.
Your expected return from not playing a $5 ticket is exactly $0.00.
Your expected return from playing a $5 ticket is approximately $-4.99
“Gaining Zero” is vastly preferable to “Losing Five”.
If you can occasionally afford a $5 ticket, you can occasionally afford to buy shares of an index fund. You’re still gambling, but your expected return is positive.
… they are in my country, at least for people who want to attend a university.
I realize myself that the lottery is a tax on lack of statistical knowledge. I still occasionally play it because if I don’t play, then the probability of winning (and never having to work for money again) is 0, and I can easily afford to occasionally buy a lottery ticket.
Your odds of finding the winning ticket on the sidewalk about about the same as buying it. So I walk around once in a while looking for winning tickets. I haven’t found one yet, but who knows. Bonus - I get some much needed exercise in the process.
Where I am the lottery funds a lot of smaller museums and some other community things like that so in my mind when I buy a lottery ticket I’m donating money to those causes rather than just trying to win.
This is why probability needs to be taught, and taught properly. This line of logic clearly demonstrates the problem.
Your expected return from not playing a $5 ticket is exactly $0.00.
Your expected return from playing a $5 ticket is approximately $-4.99
“Gaining Zero” is vastly preferable to “Losing Five”.
If you can occasionally afford a $5 ticket, you can occasionally afford to buy shares of an index fund. You’re still gambling, but your expected return is positive.
I realize that, academically.
I feel that what I am buying with a lottery ticket is a few days of allowing myself to imagine what my life might be like if I win.
And I invest vastly more of my money than I buy in lottery tickets.