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Comment by rychco | Hacker News Reader

On the very rare chance that I purchase a lottery ticket, it's almost always when the jackpot grows to an enormous sum that starts making headlines. I don't do this because of a cost-benefit analysis or anything like that. I don't expect to win regardless of the prize. I buy a ticket for fun. For a few days, I entertain the fantasy of winning & joke around with friends about the things I would do with it all.

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This is a perfect example of how the “rational agents” theory breaks down. From a mathematical POV what you do is clearly irrational, yet as a human it is perfectly sensible to do what you do, spend a couple of $$, have a bit of fun and move on.

Why isn't it "rational" to purchase entertainment products you enjoy? Do you think economists actually rely on the axiom that humans are born with a perfect ability to play logic and probability games?

> From a mathematical POV what you do is clearly irrational

The ticket costs the same whether the pot is small or large. For every lottery, there is a jackpot amount at which the expected value of a ticket exceeds its cost. Some lotteries occasionally approach this, even after taxes, although the chance of sharing the pot complicates that.

Why is it "clearly irrational" to buy a ticket only when the EV is closer to 1, rather than when it's something like 0.2?

>I don't expect to win regardless of the prize. I buy a ticket for fun.

Plenty of pleasant brain chemicals and time daydreaming for the low low cost of a couple bucks.

It’s transactional entertainment, no different than dropping $2.99 to watch an old episode of Law and Order on Prime Video.

Harmless fun for those who can afford it.

When the jackpot would get really high for the Powerball I'd set a meeting for me and a few coworkers. We'd go across the street to a bodega to get a ticket or two and sit in the park for a bit to talk/argue about what we'd do with the money. We'd all return to the office happier despite knowing we obviously wouldn't win.

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