[fennecfoxen]

Putting down money and expecting to get less money back is irrational, unless you're rationally pursuing some higher goal (in the case of lotteries' education funds, more efficiently obtained by writing checks to the appropriate agencies as donations.)

Of course, there are worse things in life than being irrational, and a variety of human beings' irrational instincts form incredibly useful heuristics for long-term value maximization (on both individual and societal levels) which might otherwise be difficult to attain, given the limitations of the rational brain: love, patriotism, et cetera.

It sounds like the unpredictability of the results is something you value, perhaps because it's exciting. That's a pretty irrational thing to value, but not intrinsically harmful in small doses; people put down money for plenty of ridiculous forms of entertainment.

But you could own up to it. :b

[tomp]

> Putting down money and expecting to get less money back is irrational, unless you're rationally pursuing some higher goal

Actually, economists assume that most people are not pursuing to maximize money, but to maximize their utility function instead. Granted, they also assume that most people are risk-averse as opposed to risk-loving, i.e. most would not risk 1 for a 50% chance of winning 2.0001. On the other hand, the economics of the lottery are such that the amount you pay (even if you play every day for your whole life) is quite negligible compared to all the money you will earn during your life; if you win, you will practically maximize the utility of a few very important things in life (earning more, and working less). I think it's rational to play the lottery.

[kazagistar]

From everything I see, money does not scale all that well with happiness. Thus, those dollars you spend now are almost certainly going to be more valuable to you (buck for buck) then the dollars you have when you are rich. So its not just the chance that is low, but the payoff is even lower.

[LordKano]

I play sparingly and it's irrational if you expect to win more than you spend on the tickets.

It's not irrational if you're playing for fun.

The $10 that I spent on PowerBall tickets provided me with much more enjoyment than the $10 that I spent to see The Blair Witch Project.

[Tyr42]

My grandparents consider going to a casino entertainment, and expect to lose the money they go in with. It's fun, and sometimes they fund their next few trips there with the winnings.

[barkingcat]

Irrationality by definition is a big part of fun by the way.

It can be irrational if you're playing for fun!

I think there's some kind of a mistaken association between irrationality and "goodness" - like anything irrational is not good. That is what you are trying to argue against!

[LordKano]

I think that you're misunderstanding the motives of some players.

I fully concede that some people play because they think they're going to win. They had a dream or some charlatan has convinced them that this is their lucky day to play. That kind of thinking is not rational.

People like me, exchange money for entertainment. It's no different than paying to see a movie or to listen to a streaming music service.

It's entertainment, not investment and it's not irrational.