http://jimthompson.org/wp/2005/10/21/hurley-won-but-you-lose/ A clean, well-lighted blog. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:33:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1.2 http://jimthompson.org/wp/2005/10/21/hurley-won-but-you-lose/#comment-572 Sat, 22 Oct 2005 01:56:59 +0000 http://jimthompson.org/wp/2005/10/21/hurley-won-but-you-lose/#comment-572 I play the lottery only on rare occasions, maybe a few times a year. It's just for the fun of it, and that slim chance of winning. I use a criterion I learned back in probability class: if the payoff times the probability of winning is greater than the cost of entry, then - on average - it's worth doing. In other words, if a lottery ticket is one dollar, and the probability of winning is one in fifty million, then I don't play unless the jackpot is more than fifty million dollars. When you play only a few times a year, this calculation is meaningless, but it at least establishes a guideline. I play the lottery only on rare occasions, maybe a few times a year. It’s just for the fun of it, and that slim chance of winning. I use a criterion I learned back in probability class: if the payoff times the probability of winning is greater than the cost of entry, then - on average - it’s worth doing. In other words, if a lottery ticket is one dollar, and the probability of winning is one in fifty million, then I don’t play unless the jackpot is more than fifty million dollars. When you play only a few times a year, this calculation is meaningless, but it at least establishes a guideline.

]]> http://jimthompson.org/wp/2005/10/21/hurley-won-but-you-lose/#comment-571 Sat, 22 Oct 2005 00:47:41 +0000 http://jimthompson.org/wp/2005/10/21/hurley-won-but-you-lose/#comment-571 *giggles* I don't even watch the show. Of course, neither do I play the lottery. Sometimes I have a wishful thought about it, though. ;) *giggles* I don’t even watch the show. Of course, neither do I play the lottery. Sometimes I have a wishful thought about it, though. ;)

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