[fungiblecog]

So gambling is your solution? It's easy to identify Amazon after the fact just like it's easy to identify the winner of a horse race. Go back to the dawn of Amazon and invest $100 in some of the other startups that look just as likely to be big and now your $100 is $0

[skookumchuck]

> So gambling is your solution?

Gambling has a mathematical downward bias. Investing has a mathematical upward bias. (That's my definition of the difference.)

I find it rather unfair to argue that wealthy people make money off of investments, but that non-wealthy people shouldn't invest because positive returns are not guaranteed. Well, they aren't guaranteed for wealthy people, either, but they invest anyway.

[charlesdm]

Everything in life is gambling and probability. Take a job? You might get fired tomorrow. Start a business? It might fail. Invest in a company? It might turn out to be worth a billion, or $0. Borrow money from a bank? They might try to screw you over at some point, or not. The economy might tank tomorrow. The market might tank tomorrow. An astroid might hit the world in six months.

[manjushri]

Seems like a strawman argument. Sure, metaphorically "everything" might be gambling, but the point is to play games with better odds for everybody except the casino.