The Lottery Logic

The Lottery Logic

Written on January 17, 2012 by Srinivas in Uncategorized

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6034723406 a5c950447f The Lottery Logic

Every year millions of people play the lottery in hopes of getting rich. Some people play it on a weekly basis despite never having won a dime. When the jackpot goes up the number of tickets purchased goes up.

I’m always kind of baffled by this. Even my dad will occasionally encourage me to play the lottery when the jackpot is bigger. We’re Indian and supposed to be good at math (I’m the exception to that rule). If the math behind the lottery logic teaches us anything, it’s that the odds of winning decrease dramatically when the jackpot gets bigger.

People flock in droves to Las Vegas every year in hopes of bringing down the house, an empire that was built on the financial losses and crazy wild eyed dreams of people who want to get rich quick. They know that the odds are always in favor of the house. But they play anyways.

To me it seems a thousand times more irrational than chasing dreams and dragging ass through the Skool of Life. Yet when you start your journey down the second path, your sanity is questioned despite the fact that your odds of success are significantly higher with the latter. The second path takes time, effort, and the ability to stand on the edge of success with adversity as the catalyst.

If you’re going to gamble, why not bet on something with better odds?

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carolannescreations 5 pts

You ask the question "if you're going to gamble, why not bet on something with better odds"? What would you suggest?

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Bryan Thompson 23 pts

My grandfather played the lottery every single weekend I knew him. We would go to the store and he would always get some kind of lotto sticker or play for the Powerball lottery on television. To my knowledge, I don't think he ever even won five bucks. It was just something he enjoyed, so he gave himself a limit each week to blow. SO bizarre!

skooloflife 89 pts moderator

Bryan Thompson It's interesting how much that actually adds up over the 10-20 years. The funny thing is it probably comes to 100's if not 1000's of dollars. I had some family members who were exactly the same.

My latest conversation: How All of Us Revolution Took A Fashion Line from Inception to Launch

jonknep 5 pts

It's sad to say but that's so true about the second path, especially when you are at the point (like me) where your financial gains aren't at boss status yet.

The only gambling logic I follow is- Ride the rush!

Jonathon

jonknep My friend my financial gains aren't boss status either yet. But the lottery never paid off.

EnsoJourney 11 pts

I believe the problem is just the amount of effort that it takes to chase your dreams for real. Since it involves getting up and doing stuff instead of just hoping it comes to you, it's harder to sell the idea of making an effort and get what you want.

I would spend that little money for the lottery money in getting a little domain name and starting your empire. Around here with the cost of 4 lottery tickets you can get a domain for a month. Seems to me like a better investment.

Hopefully our efforts (Skool of life is like a huge campfire that helps people realize the truth) can help people see that taking steps towards their dreams is a lot better than just wishing for it.

EnsoJourney It's funny that you mention taking that cost of 4 lottery tickets and buying a domain. Great example. I'd never thought of it as a huge campfire, but that's kind of cool :). Thanks for your ongoing support.

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EndGrind 7 pts

You mean like Blackjack? :)

Our world is filled with "wishers" who will never put the effort into creating a better life for themselves. It's sad but so true.

You are a great example of someone taking their life into your their hands and making something happen. Good things come to people who "do the work"..

Now solve this for me:

2sin2(2x) + 5sin(2x) -3 = 0. find all solutions on the interval (0, 2π)

EndGrind didn't you read that part about I suck at Math? :). Steve you're right. There are far too many people who want something for nothing. The world doesn't work that way. I have to say I've been impressed by your turnaround lately. Lots of really inspiring stuff.

skooloflifeEndGrind Yes, that's why I put it there :) And thanks, I'm making some big changes in my life....

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