Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!henry From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) Newsgroups: can.politics Subject: Re: Lotteries Message-ID: <5784@utzoo.UUCP> Date: Fri, 12-Jul-85 12:32:39 EDT Article-I.D.: utzoo.5784 Posted: Fri Jul 12 12:32:39 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 12-Jul-85 12:32:39 EDT References: <1121@ubc-cs.UUCP> <1110@mnetor.UUCP> <695@lsuc.UUCP> Organization: U of Toronto Zoology Lines: 10 It is worth remembering that probability-based arguments indicating that lottery tickets are a losing proposition have a serious flaw: the sample set is not large enough to be a statistical universe. If I buy one $10 ticket for a lottery that has a $1M grand prize and nothing else, and spends 1/2 of its take on the prize, my expected return is *not* $5. It is "zero or $1M". Speaking of an average expected return is not meaningful for a single ticket. This is what makes lotteries interesting... -- Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry