The Lottery Is A Fool s Game - 1437 Words

Here are three solid arguments for betting on anything other than the lottery. With each argument, you will find ways of exploiting mathematical probability to get more for your money than playing the lottery will ever give. The first argument centres on why playing the lottery is a fool’s game, and the second two arguments explain how lottery alternatives will make you more money. Lottery Players Do Not Understand Probability Probability is not hard to understand as a concept, but it is a difficult thing to comprehend and render in your mind, especially when you are faced with what appears to be contradictory evidence. For example, probability suggests that you are more likely to die in a car than in an airplane, and yet people are viciously afraid of flying because of the fear they will die. People understand the concept of probability in that they could spend their life on a plane until the age of 168 and never have an accident, and yet they still feel a fear of death when going on a plane. In this case, people experience contradictory evidence and therefore cannot accept the mathematical probability. They read about plane crashes where there were no survivors, and yet they get in cars all the time and never die. Plus, there are car crashes where people survive, and so forth. This â€Å"evidence† makes comprehending the probability a tough pill to swallow. A lack of comprehension is to blame for why people play the lottery. The odds are absurdly-astronomically againstShow MoreRelatedThe State Of The United States Lotteries1555 Words   |  7 PagesIn the United States, lotteries are coordinated by the legislature amid the colonial and revolutionary period to raise assets which would be used to support infrastructure, bridges and schools. Amid the post-civil war, Congress authorized a progression of preventive policies which banned lottery activities. From 1895 to 1963, each state banned lotteries and vetoed them as a source of compensation. Consequently, in 1963, the state lottery was reinstated as a government, enterprise and an origin ofRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson1299 Words   |  6 Pagesgeneration. In the short story â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson, the characters blindly follow a tradition that no one is certain how started but continue anyway. The purpose of the lottery in the story is to decided who in the town will be stoned to death because they believe it will ensure a fertile growing season. We do not know the year in which the story takes place, but we do know that some of the surrounding towns and communities are also participating in the lottery, and that some of the other townsRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson1005 Words   |  5 Pages In some ways, â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson could be seen as controversial. Within the first paragraph, we are left with two main questions; â€Å"what is the lottery?† and â€Å"why does it happen?† A major theme that answers the first question is all about tradition. Yes, the lottery is a tradition in many towns. No one has ever questioned this tradition, even though it is quite inhumane. In all honesty, you could compare this story very well to The Hunger Games just because of what this tradition consistsRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson Setting Essay1511 Words   |  7 Pagesstory. The setting of â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson has extremely significant meaning to the plot of this story. The setting represents elements of irony, tradition, and unity. The mood in the beginning of the story is cheerful and appears to be a normal day. The children are playing, the men are talking about â€Å"planting and rain, tractors and taxes† (Jackson 1). Nothing seems to be abnormal about this particular day. This is a very unusual description of townspeople s activities and conversationsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Lottery Essay1893 Words   |  8 Pages When I think of the lottery, I think of a game basically where they choose one number and something or something gets chosen. * Setting can best be defined as: B. Thy physical location, time, and social environment in which a story takes place. In the first paragraph, the setting is described as a beautiful sunny day that is during the summer. Everything is in bloom and the grass is green. Basically, during this first paragraph, the author describes it as a â€Å"perfect† day which shows how niceRead MoreEssay on Human Nature at its Worst2540 Words   |  11 PagesWhen Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† was first published in The New Yorker in 1948, it struck a nerve with readers. â€Å"The story was incendiary; readers acted as if a bomb had blown up in their faces . . . Shirley struck a nerve in mid-twentieth-century America . . . She had told people a painful truth about themselves† (Oppenheimer 129). Interestingly, the story strikes that same nerve with readers today. When my English class recently viewed the video, those students who had not previously read theRead MoreBlind Obedience in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Essay2503 Words   |  11 PagesWhen Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"T he Lottery† was first published in The New Yorker in 1948, it struck a nerve with readers. â€Å"The story was incendiary; readers acted as if a bomb had blown up in their faces . . . Shirley struck a nerve in mid-twentieth-century America . . . She had told people a painful truth about themselves† (Oppenheimer 129). Interestingly, the story strikes that same nerve with readers today. When my English class recently viewed the video, those students who had not previouslyRead MoreInvestment Style Focused on Risk Diversification2348 Words   |  10 PagesDiversification, Schmiversification Steve Smith, 23, recently out of college, has just won $15 million in the lottery. After buying a few things, he realizes that he still has quite a bit of money, and starts to look at the big picture and what he should do. After his girlfriend shoots down his dreams of buying an island paradise where he could relax and golf all day, or buying his own rocket ship, Steve is forced to think of more practical things to do with his newly acquired fortune. UnableRead MoreAfrican American Performers: Egbert Austin Williams Essay1573 Words   |  7 Pagesand a couple black, shady businessmen in Boston used the less fortunate of their own race to do so. They must find an heirloom to help fund the plan so they hire two detectives who are played by Walker a â€Å"knave, Rareback Pinkerton† and Williams a â€Å"fool, Sheylock Homestead†. They eventually end up in Dahomey as the rulers of the African state. A review of the show by, â€Å"The Theatre magazine proclaimed Bert Williams ‘a vastly funnier man than any white comedian now on the American stage.’† (Jas Obrecht)Read MoreControversial Topics Within the Hunger Games2289 Words   |  10 PagesMaking several appearances on the American Library Association’s ‘most contested books’ listings for its controversial and confronting content, The Hunger Games trilogy has become one of the most discussed Young Adult fictions since its debut in 2008. Through Suzanne Collins’ use of provocative themes of class and extreme poverty, confronting depictions of violence amongst children and the challenging of stereotypical gender roles, the novel discusses the hardships faced by children living within