OP here. Interesting article. "Fantasizing" isn't what I was trying to describe in the "entertainment" section. I 86'ed a longer explanation of what I meant,

OP here. Interesting article. "Fantasizing" isn't what I was trying to describe in the "entertainment" section. I 86'ed a longer explanation of what I meant, but here goes: When I say, "I also enjoy letting my mind wander and think about what I’d do with a nine-figure windfall," I actually mean that I think about it, not that I fantasize about it. Some of my problems would go away. Others wouldn't. I'd have a whole new set of issues to think about. And I'd still come in to work [0] tomorrow. When I think about what it would be like to win the Powerball jackpot, I tend to reflect on some of the issues raised in PG's "Cities and Ambition" essay [1], when he talks about the things different cities value: "New York is pretty impressed by a billion dollars even if you merely inherited it. In Silicon Valley no one would care except a few real estate agents. What matters in Silicon Valley is how much effect you have on the world." The utility I get from buying a lottery ticket isn't about dreams of private jets and caviar. It's the perspective I gain: if I didn't have to think about money ever again, what would I want to do with my life? I think I'd keep working on startups. What would I do differently? I'm not sure, but I'd start with buying a better set of wheels for my bike. In the bigger picture, I'd probably spend more time on projects that have the potential to have huge impact, and think less about whether a particular idea can be a profitable business. It's easy to get caught up in the patterns of daily life. Thinking about winning a jackpot makes me evaluate my life from 30,000 feet. I guess I could do that for free, but at least for me, that $2 gets me thinking a little differently. And to me, that's where the value is. [0] http://zeromailer.com http://zeromailer.com [1] http://www.paulgraham.com/cities.html http://www.paulgraham.com/cities.html