5 ms·

Some vaguely interesting statistical analysis, but here's the money quote at the end (TL;DR)- "So why do I still buy lottery tickets? <b>Definitely not for the

by FelixP 14y ago

Some vaguely interesting statistical analysis, but here's the money quote at the end (TL;DR)- "So why do I still buy lottery tickets? <b>Definitely not for the expected monetary return on investment.</b> I think of it as a discretionary entertainment spend. I get literally hours of enjoyment from fantasizing what I’d do if I won."

chii 14y ago
"I get literally hours of enjoyment from fantasizing what I’d do if I won" funny, thats exactly what i do too!
commieneko 14y ago
Interestingly, I can fantasize about winning the lottery and spending all that lovely, lovely money too. All without buying a lottery ticket.
- libria 14y ago
  I believe the author is trying to convey that even a remote possibility of winning fuels his fantasy. It is impossible to win without buying a lottery ticket.
  - eridius 14y ago
    On the other hand, someone could walk up to you on the street and hand you a briefcase full of $10M. It's not out of the realm of probability.
    - redthrowaway 14y ago
      >It's not out of the realm of probability. It's entirely out of the realm of probability, although just slightly within that of possibility.
      - discodave 14y ago
        Just like winning the lottery.
      - eridius 14y ago
        What's the difference? It's not probable, but it has a non-zero probability. The realms of probability and possibility are the same.
        doe88 14y ago
        Based on past outcomes has it already happened? never heard of. Whereas despite its rareness there nevertheless are lottery winners.
        larrydag 14y ago
        Maybe not $10M but it has happened. http://www.pressherald.com/news/Secret-Santa-drops-100-bills-at-food-pantry.html http://www.pressherald.com/news/Secret-Santa-drops-100-bills...
    - vetler 14y ago
      You're assuming that there is actually someone walking around out there with a briefcase full of $10M that he or she intends to give to someone. At least with the lottery you know that someone is actually getting a lot of money.
    - philwelch 14y ago
      $10M in US $100 bills would take up over 100 liters of volume, which would fill about five rather large briefcases. The cash itself would weigh over 200 pounds. Strictly speaking, it's impossible for someone to walk up to you on the street and simply "hand" you a briefcase full of $10M. They would have to wheel them to you on a cart, which would undoubtedly attract far more attention than is safe for this sort of transaction. Incidentally, it's amusing to note that $100 bills are actually more valuable than gold relative to their weight. The obvious next question would be, what's an even denser store of value. For one amusing example, Cristiano Ronaldo has a transfer value in excess of $130 million by last valuation, and weighs less than 200 pounds, making him more than ten times as valuable as $100 bills per unit weight, let alone gold. Judging from the transfer market, it would seem that many top-flight athletes are literally worth their weight in gold.
      - vl 14y ago
        The obvious next question would be, what's an even denser store of value. Interestingly, high-denomination casino chips, some professional players don't cash them out since it's much easier to transport them to their place of staying.
      - nasmorn 14y ago
        By weight you are absolutely right but considering density it is a much closer call. A kilo of Ronaldo (assume 75kg) costs 1700k and takes about 1dm3. In this space you can fit 19.3 kg of gold worth 1016k. So impressively Ronaldo is worth more than a solid statue of himin Gold.
      - adrianN 14y ago
        500€ notes are the method of choice for transporting large amount of money. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/500_euro_note#Crime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/500_euro_note#Crime
        philwelch 14y ago
        Yeah, that's why we abolished the $500 bill in this country. I'm surprised the EU has currency in that amount. I didn't think to investigate other currencies because the guy I was replying to said 10 million dollars. Perhaps 10 million euro would fit in a single large briefcase (and be worth more than 10 million dollars to boot).
- JoeAltmaier 14y ago
  My buddy says he's expecting the winning lottery ticket to blow into his hat. About the same chance of winning as if he bought one.
- ja27 14y ago
  But your odds of winning increase dramatically when you go from holding zero tickets to one.
  - brlewis 14y ago
    Not so. Your odds of winning are immeasureably different. What's the difference between an empty glass and one that's 0.000006% full of water?
    - FootballMuse 14y ago
      Infinitely more...
larrydag 14y ago
I find it odd that the writer spent 99% of article refuting their own argument.

by FelixP 14y ago

chii 14y ago

"I get literally hours of enjoyment from fantasizing what I’d do if I won" funny, thats exactly what i do too!

commieneko 14y ago

Interestingly, I can fantasize about winning the lottery and spending all that lovely, lovely money too. All without buying a lottery ticket.

libria 14y ago
I believe the author is trying to convey that even a remote possibility of winning fuels his fantasy. It is impossible to win without buying a lottery ticket.
- eridius 14y ago
  On the other hand, someone could walk up to you on the street and hand you a briefcase full of $10M. It's not out of the realm of probability.
  - redthrowaway 14y ago
    >It's not out of the realm of probability. It's entirely out of the realm of probability, although just slightly within that of possibility.
    - discodave 14y ago
      Just like winning the lottery.
    - eridius 14y ago
      What's the difference? It's not probable, but it has a non-zero probability. The realms of probability and possibility are the same.
      - doe88 14y ago
        Based on past outcomes has it already happened? never heard of. Whereas despite its rareness there nevertheless are lottery winners.
        larrydag 14y ago
        Maybe not $10M but it has happened. http://www.pressherald.com/news/Secret-Santa-drops-100-bills-at-food-pantry.html http://www.pressherald.com/news/Secret-Santa-drops-100-bills...
  - vetler 14y ago
    You're assuming that there is actually someone walking around out there with a briefcase full of $10M that he or she intends to give to someone. At least with the lottery you know that someone is actually getting a lot of money.
  - philwelch 14y ago
    $10M in US $100 bills would take up over 100 liters of volume, which would fill about five rather large briefcases. The cash itself would weigh over 200 pounds. Strictly speaking, it's impossible for someone to walk up to you on the street and simply "hand" you a briefcase full of $10M. They would have to wheel them to you on a cart, which would undoubtedly attract far more attention than is safe for this sort of transaction. Incidentally, it's amusing to note that $100 bills are actually more valuable than gold relative to their weight. The obvious next question would be, what's an even denser store of value. For one amusing example, Cristiano Ronaldo has a transfer value in excess of $130 million by last valuation, and weighs less than 200 pounds, making him more than ten times as valuable as $100 bills per unit weight, let alone gold. Judging from the transfer market, it would seem that many top-flight athletes are literally worth their weight in gold.
    - vl 14y ago
      The obvious next question would be, what's an even denser store of value. Interestingly, high-denomination casino chips, some professional players don't cash them out since it's much easier to transport them to their place of staying.
    - nasmorn 14y ago
      By weight you are absolutely right but considering density it is a much closer call. A kilo of Ronaldo (assume 75kg) costs 1700k and takes about 1dm3. In this space you can fit 19.3 kg of gold worth 1016k. So impressively Ronaldo is worth more than a solid statue of himin Gold.
    - adrianN 14y ago
      500€ notes are the method of choice for transporting large amount of money. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/500_euro_note#Crime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/500_euro_note#Crime
      - philwelch 14y ago
        Yeah, that's why we abolished the $500 bill in this country. I'm surprised the EU has currency in that amount. I didn't think to investigate other currencies because the guy I was replying to said 10 million dollars. Perhaps 10 million euro would fit in a single large briefcase (and be worth more than 10 million dollars to boot).
JoeAltmaier 14y ago
My buddy says he's expecting the winning lottery ticket to blow into his hat. About the same chance of winning as if he bought one.
ja27 14y ago
But your odds of winning increase dramatically when you go from holding zero tickets to one.
- brlewis 14y ago
  Not so. Your odds of winning are immeasureably different. What's the difference between an empty glass and one that's 0.000006% full of water?
  - FootballMuse 14y ago
    Infinitely more...

larrydag 14y ago

I find it odd that the writer spent 99% of article refuting their own argument.