Presumably the math there is expected value, but does that even matter? Imagine ... | Hacker News

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Dylan16807 on March 10, 2021 | parent | context | favorite | on: Hertz, the original meme stock, is turning out to ...

Presumably the math there is expected value, but does that even matter?

Imagine two lotteries that each sell ten million $1 tickets, and will only sell one ticket per person.

One has a jackpot of $7 million. The other has a jackpot of $15 million.

Math would tell you there's a significant difference between the two, wouldn't it?

But I would say the right answer is that the difference in payout doesn't matter. And you probably shouldn't buy either ticket.

Am I reading it wrong, is 'math' supposed to mean something else here?

marshmallow_12 on March 10, 2021 [–]

You overanalysed it. The math is simply that you are statistically unlikely to get your dollar back.

Dylan16807 on March 10, 2021 | [–]

Is that even math? I can accept that but it's not a very satisfying answer.

And almost anyone playing the lottery can tell you the chance of winning a jackpot is very low!

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