Random thought thread!

Brad_Grenz · 2012-03-28T04:31:33.000Z

Remember when people played Words with Friends because it seemed less corporate and scummy than the official Scrabble apps? Man, things sure are different now.

Malcolm_Tucker · 2012-03-28T06:21:55.000Z

I’m watching Sons of Anarchy, and in the 3rd season there are two episodes called ‘Turning and Turning’ and ‘Widening Gyre’. How many titles are taken from a line in The Second Coming?

Things Fall Apart - Chiuna Achebe
Things Fall Apart - The Roots
Mere Anarchy - Woody Allen
Slouching Toward Bethlehem - Joan Didion
Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Joni Mitchell

Sarkus · 2012-03-28T20:39:52.000Z

I see the MegaMillions lottery is up to $500m. If you are the sole winner you can either take $369m in cash or get $19m/year for 26 years.

I might have to play. I’m willing to lose $1 on the very long odds of a life changing event like that. ;-)

RichVR · 2012-03-28T20:53:19.000Z

Just remember your odds:

Odds of being struck by lightning: 576,000 to 1

Odds of getting a royal flush in poker on first five cards dealt: 649,740 to 1

Odds of winning the Lottery: 176,000,000 to 1

Good luck!

Mrenda · 2012-03-29T05:59:32.000Z

For me the lottery is more about a license to dream than real gambling. A €2 lets me lie in bed and think about the awesome stuff I could do if I won. And that’s why I go for €15m payout lottery over the €2m payout lottery despite the €2m one having ten times better odds. It’s also nice that 50% of the ticket price goes towards charities and community groups (don’t know if that’s the same in America.)

Omniscia · 2012-03-29T06:25:22.000Z

Buceph:

For me the lottery is more about a license to dream than real gambling. A €2 lets me lie in bed and think about the awesome stuff I could do if I won. And that’s why I go for €15m payout lottery over the €2m payout lottery despite the €2m one having ten times better odds. It’s also nice that 50% of the ticket price goes towards charities and community groups (don’t know if that’s the same in America.)

I don’t know if it’s 50% of the ticket price, but here in Vermont all profits after payouts and operating expenses go into the state’s education fund.

jason · 2012-03-29T06:44:51.000Z

In Georgia, the lottery funds the HOPE Scholarship, which pays for college for Georgia high school graduates who attend Georgia universities and maintain a B (3.0) GPA in high school and college (you have to have the grades in high school to get the scholarship, and you have to keep the grades in college to continue it).

Giaddon · 2012-03-29T10:13:06.000Z

I just passed a guy on the street who looked like Max Payne’s original face model.

RichVR · 2012-03-29T10:39:02.000Z

Did you fart near him?

divedivedive · 2012-03-29T11:03:52.000Z

I’ve always found it funny that lots of states fund their education systems from what is essentially a tax for people who don’t understand probability.

Scrax · 2012-03-29T12:39:19.000Z

I just used “Jumped the Shark” in regular conversation. Sigh.

Omniscia · 2012-03-29T13:50:41.000Z

I thought that phrase had nuked the fridge already.

Scuzz · 2012-03-29T14:41:18.000Z

Pogue Mahone:

I’ve always found it funny that lots of states fund their education systems from what is essentially a tax for people who don’t understand probability.

In California the lottery system can be used for anything but not salaries. So school districts use it to upgrade facilities mostly.

Oh, and when the lottery went into effect the state found it a wise thing to reduce the education budget by basically the amount of the lottery income so everyone came out ahead. :)

Anders_Hallin · 2012-03-29T15:15:26.000Z

Pogue Mahone:

I’ve always found it funny that lots of states fund their education systems from what is essentially a tax for people who don’t understand probability.

I would suggest that the vast majority of lottery players do it as entertainment, not as an investment.

Sarkus · 2012-03-29T19:20:35.000Z

Went in for an eye exam today and kept my post-appointment schedule clear because I was getting my eyes dilated and expected the usual several hours of issues afterwards. Oddly that didn’t happen. Other then some minor light sensitivity afterwards (which was undoubtedly much less then it could have been thanks to an stereotypical Seattle gray gloomy day) I hardly noticed it. No trouble reading afterwards or anything else.

Miramon · 2012-03-29T19:37:35.000Z

Sarkus:

Went in for an eye exam today and kept my post-appointment schedule clear because I was getting my eyes dilated and expected the usual several hours of issues afterwards. Oddly that didn’t happen. Other then some minor light sensitivity afterwards (which was undoubtedly much less then it could have been thanks to an stereotypical Seattle gray gloomy day) I hardly noticed it. No trouble reading afterwards or anything else.

Yeah, last couple of eye exams had much shorter-lived dilation effects one me than in the past. This could be because a) they are secretly using a drug that doesn’t last as long, or b) my advancing presbyopia makes it less effective somehow.

Miramon · 2012-03-29T19:47:23.000Z

Anders Hallin:

I would suggest that the vast majority of lottery players do it as entertainment, not as an investment.

I don’t think so, at least not in the US. Here, the big volume ticket dispensers are in low-income-area convenience stores and liquor shops where they can prey on people whose educations don’t afford them a real understanding of the odds and what they mean. I’m sure the average player understands the odds are bad, but they don’t necessarily understand how bad in comparison to other kinds of bets they could be making.

But I admit I never really understood the logic of the entertainment. Sure, there is that ludicrously small chance you’ll win the big prize in the lottery, but the odds are better of you winning a lousy casino game like roulette 10 times in a row, and you can at least get free drinks and snacks while losing your money at the local house of Native American lucre. I suppose you can’t ever take a casino for $100M+ because of the table limits, but then, for most lottery players, taking them for $100K or $1M with a silly series of roulette wins or an unlikely slot machine jackpot would be good enough.

divedivedive · 2012-03-29T20:46:50.000Z

Anders Hallin:

I would suggest that the vast majority of lottery players do it as entertainment, not as an investment.

Well I guess that depends on the lottery. Scratch off stuff, sure I see the entertainment value. My wife’s parents love those things, and they usually come out somewhere around breaking even, so no big deal.

Powerball, though? I don’t know, but I’m with Miramon. People see numbers that big and they start to think, well, someone has to win it! Eventually! Maybe! And anyway where’s the entertainment value in picking six numbers?

deccan · 2012-03-29T21:09:01.000Z

There’s something to be said about the social aspect of it too. I know groups of people, relatives, co-workers etc. who like to buy in to a lottery draw together. And they have something to talk about / dream about collectively. Anyone who’s part of the group but doesn’t join in feels left out.

Anders_Hallin · 2012-03-30T01:04:33.000Z

Miramon:

I don’t think so, at least not in the US. Here, the big volume ticket dispensers are in low-income-area convenience stores and liquor shops where they can prey on people whose educations don’t afford them a real understanding of the odds and what they mean. I’m sure the average player understands the odds are bad, but they don’t necessarily understand how bad in comparison to other kinds of bets they could be making.

But I admit I never really understood the logic of the entertainment.

I think you guys sorely underestimate the pleasure someone can get from stimulating their imagination about what they’d do with x million for half an hour.