Comments on: Lottery and happiness; or “Are lottery players stupid?” http://www.spreadinghappiness.org/2009/09/lottery-and-happiness-or-%e2%80%9care-lottery-players-stupid%e2%80%9d/ Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:58:38 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Wifetellsall http://www.spreadinghappiness.org/2009/09/lottery-and-happiness-or-%e2%80%9care-lottery-players-stupid%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-75 Wifetellsall Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:22:18 +0000 http://www.spreadinghappiness.org/?p=91#comment-75 Playing the lottery probably won't make one happy, but if someone feels compelled to spend $1 then playing the lottery with the $1 may be a better choice then eating a fatty burger, or drinking a sugary drink or eating that candy bar. I have learned that eating that candy bar may bring me momentary happiness but in an hour or so I will feel the crash of the sugar rush and then I'm less happy then before the candy bar. Or drinking that go girl may keep me awake, but then I'll feel less happy when I have to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes. So if I had to spend that $1, buying the lottery ticket beats going to the bathroom every 15 minutes.... Playing the lottery probably won’t make one happy, but if someone feels compelled to spend $1 then playing the lottery with the $1 may be a better choice then eating a fatty burger, or drinking a sugary drink or eating that candy bar. I have learned that eating that candy bar may bring me momentary happiness but in an hour or so I will feel the crash of the sugar rush and then I’m less happy then before the candy bar. Or drinking that go girl may keep me awake, but then I’ll feel less happy when I have to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes. So if I had to spend that $1, buying the lottery ticket beats going to the bathroom every 15 minutes….

]]> By: Robert Platt Bell http://www.spreadinghappiness.org/2009/09/lottery-and-happiness-or-%e2%80%9care-lottery-players-stupid%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-73 Robert Platt Bell Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:01:01 +0000 http://www.spreadinghappiness.org/?p=91#comment-73 Thanks for your insightful comment on my blog and great link to this one. You make some valid arguments Yes, there are other factors than dollars and cents in economics. If we take a dollars-and-sense approach to everything other than basic needs, then anything other than a bread-and-water existence and a fig leaf is an extravagance. I'll admit that about two or three times a year, I'll buy a lottery ticket. Yes, it is fun to buy the ticket and get caught up in the excitement of it all. Total cost? A dollar. Pretty cheap thrills. You are correct that the cost/benefit analysis works here, in terms of "benefit" (entertainment value) versus cost (one dollar). However, my article was not addressed to the occasional gambler or lotto player, but the hard core types. I've seen people living on Social Security go in and spend $40 to $100 every week on lottery tickets. It is a joyless thing for them - an addiction. And they can ill afford it. Where is the "benefit" for them? The same is true of the compulsive gambler, repetitively pressing the button on a slot machine like a rat in a Skinner box. If they are getting "joy" from gambling, it hardly shows. Like any compulsion, there is little happiness involved. Having a cocktail at the end of a hard day's work is nice. Being a full-blown alcoholic ain't. But I guess that would factor into economics as well. "The law of diminishing returns" - correct? Thanks for your insightful comment on my blog and great link to this one. You make some valid arguments Yes, there are other factors than dollars and cents in economics.

If we take a dollars-and-sense approach to everything other than basic needs, then anything other than a bread-and-water existence and a fig leaf is an extravagance.

I’ll admit that about two or three times a year, I’ll buy a lottery ticket. Yes, it is fun to buy the ticket and get caught up in the excitement of it all. Total cost? A dollar. Pretty cheap thrills. You are correct that the cost/benefit analysis works here, in terms of “benefit” (entertainment value) versus cost (one dollar).

However, my article was not addressed to the occasional gambler or lotto player, but the hard core types.

I’ve seen people living on Social Security go in and spend $40 to $100 every week on lottery tickets. It is a joyless thing for them – an addiction. And they can ill afford it. Where is the “benefit” for them?

The same is true of the compulsive gambler, repetitively pressing the button on a slot machine like a rat in a Skinner box. If they are getting “joy” from gambling, it hardly shows.

Like any compulsion, there is little happiness involved. Having a cocktail at the end of a hard day’s work is nice. Being a full-blown alcoholic ain’t.

But I guess that would factor into economics as well. “The law of diminishing returns” – correct?

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