Definitely true, but hugely asymmetrical bets like the lottery play on the qualitative difference between losing pocket change and the (tiny) chance of life-changing wealth. Lotteries are objectively bad bets because people in aggregate lose more than they win, but they can be subjectively good bets because individual losses are effectively zero for responsible bettors. People who play lotteries often speak of the fantasies of winning being worth the price of entry.
Definitely true, but hugely asymmetrical bets like the lottery play on the qualitative difference between losing pocket change and the (tiny) chance of life-changing wealth. Lotteries are objectively bad bets because people in aggregate lose more than they win, but they can be subjectively good bets because individual losses are effectively zero for responsible bettors. People who play lotteries often speak of the fantasies of winning being worth the price of entry.
Yeah, that’s the sort of bunk that good advertising can get people to say :P
EDIT: just remembered an Eliezer essay on this.