4 ms·
Gambling/lotteries basically only harm people with innumeracy; ergo why should it ever be prohibited?
by mmirate 9y ago
Gambling/lotteries basically only harm people with innumeracy; ergo why should it ever be prohibited?
- hollerith 9y agobecause maybe your brother or my brother is innumerate.
- mmirate 9y ago> your brother I lack siblings. > or my brother is innumerate You led with "maybe"; to keep my next sentence's structure from becoming a complete mess, I'll assume that your hypothetical is true. If some random person tells me "my brother is innumerate" ... then why should that information be of any consequence to me, in the absence of further context? EDIT: and by further context I mean further information about you or your brother.
- Intermernet 9y agoThe further context is that your brother could be harmed by gambling or lotteries. The information should be of consequence due to human empathy usually associated with family members and hopefully, also other humans in general.
- mmirate 9y ago> your brother You mean their brother? Presuming so, then my next paragraph applies to this item also. > other humans in general. But who? I draw much different conclusions from a physician or a programmer or a chemist or etc, than from a hobo or an organized-criminal or etc.
- whyenot 9y agoIn other words, gambling should be allowed because it only harms the under-educated? I'm not sure that's a very compelling argument considering the current state of K-12 education in the US.
- mmirate 9y agoJust because K-12 education has become complete shit, does not mean we ought to decrease our standard expectations of the capabilities of an adult mind. It merely means that more will fail those expectations. And not merely more, but very many more; but how is that any concern? Is the U.S. truly so deficient in population that it must extend a coddling (and a circus) to every single warm body that requires it?
- obstacle1 9y agoYou can fully understand the -EV of gambling yet still act against your own self-interest by engaging in it. (Most) humans aren't emotionless machines, even highly intelligent people engage in self-destructive behaviour despite recognizing it as such.
- bpicolo 9y agoAnd human brains are totally wired for gambling addiction.
- mmirate 9y agoThen what better way is there, other than legalizing gambling, to select-out-of-the-population those people who are weak-minded enough to become gambling addicts?
- bpicolo 9y agoThe narcissistic approach isn't going to serve you well.
- mmirate 9y agoNarcissism, eh? That's a new one. There are probably several hundreds of millions of personnel who will produce more net-worth in their lifetimes than I will in mine (and who therefore have a greater right to their lives than I've to mine; but that's not important right now). Where in this thread have I made a claim about myself that was more extreme than that?
- mmirate 9y ago> (Most) humans aren't emotionless machines Indeed, and much to our detriment. Which is why... > even highly intelligent people engage in self-destructive behaviour despite recognizing it as such ... this justifies permitting those with self-destructive abilities to exercise their abilities; such that the intelligent people who remain, are both intelligent and resilient.
- jccalhoun 9y agoOn one hand, I can see this. Having worked in a casino, my gut reaction is, "If you are that dumb then you deserve to lose everything." But on the other hand, there is the societal good of not having people throw away their money and spend it on things like paying their rent/mortgage and healthcare and education and not be a burden to society.
- dominotw 9y agoI would say there is more social good in banning junk food. Imagine the healthcare cost savings. Gambling would be pretty low on social good list.
- mmirate 9y ago> I would say there is more social good in banning junk food. Imagine the healthcare cost savings. The same cost savings could be realized by simply not providing healthcare for the complications of chronic overeating. (The only downside of such a plan is that the complications of chronic overeating can sometimes fail to onset until after the patient has reproduced.)
- junkscience2017 9y agoAlcohol is factually poisonous to humans. Every day people die, become sick, lose jobs, destroy families, etc etc all due to this poison. The facts regarding alcohol are beyond question. Will you destroy all of your personal stock of this poison for the benefit of society and forsake it forevermore? If not, why not?
- mmirate 9y agoOh, it's no doubt a mind-destroyer; that alone makes it quite scary to me, no need to contemplate its other effects. And I'll gladly forsake it quietly, and let those with excess affinity for it, use it to destroy themselves if they so desire. We didn't need such weak people anyway.
- 9y ago
- dogruck 9y agoI support the legalization of gambling, but you’re wrong. By analogy, that’s like saying only people who don’t understand the risk of unprotected sex have unprotected sex.
- mmirate 9y agoAnd that analogy is wrong because unprotected sex means not only STDs, but also pregnancies, and the latter are why such ignorant peoples' families continue to exist over generations. Gambling, on the other hand, does not impart any benefits whatsoever upon its sufferers, and that is why I argued it ought to be allowed for anyone stupid enough to want it.