Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > The Academy > Tilted Philosophy


View Poll Results: Would you play the lottery (read first post before answering)
No way! 45 53.57%
Yes - at 50% odds 11 13.10%
Yes - at 75% odds 6 7.14%
Yes - but not until the odds reached at least 99% 22 26.19%
Voters: 84. You may not vote on this poll

 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 10-01-2004, 11:53 AM   #1 (permalink)
Crazy
 
Location: Saratoga Springs, NY
Another "Would You?" Thread

The scenario is this:

There is a lottery where you have a 50% chance of winning $100,000,000. However, if you don't win the money you will be killed immediately.

Would you play?

How about if the odds are 75% in your favor?

Last edited by hokieian; 10-01-2004 at 11:57 AM..
hokieian is offline  
Old 10-01-2004, 02:03 PM   #2 (permalink)
Upright
 
i voted no. i have enough money to live on right now and i live in a beautiful place already. but if i was starving and living in a bad place i might do it at 99 percent. more money would be cool but i'm not too concerned about it.
lost22coast is offline  
Old 10-01-2004, 05:26 PM   #3 (permalink)
Psycho
 
CoachAlan's Avatar
 
Location: Las Vegas
That's essentially the same idea I had, lost. A vote to play the lottery would be like saying that your life's not worth living if you don't have $100M.
__________________
"If I cannot smoke cigars in heaven, I shall not go!"
- Mark Twain
CoachAlan is offline  
Old 10-01-2004, 06:40 PM   #4 (permalink)
Lennonite Priest
 
pan6467's Avatar
 
Location: Mansfield, Ohio USA
The lottery is such a waste. The people I see play most are those that really can't afford it.

I'm not against gambling but the odds in the lotteries are so one sided in the state's favor it's sad, yet they get the people to play.

It's like here in Ohio if the state wants to allow gambling let in the casinos at least the odds are better.
__________________
I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"
pan6467 is offline  
Old 10-01-2004, 07:22 PM   #5 (permalink)
Psycho
 
inharmony's Avatar
 
Location: happy place
voted no...living is way better even during hard times
__________________
"You can't shake hands with a clenched fist."
Ghandi

"Things do not change: We change"
Henry David Thoreau
inharmony is offline  
Old 10-01-2004, 07:27 PM   #6 (permalink)
We are everywhere...
 
Location: Barrie, Ontario
Ten years ago before my wife and girls, yup I'd play. Today, not a chance. Not just for myself, but I am very much looking forward to growing old with my girls.
__________________
You can be young only once, but you can be immature for the rest of your life...
Baldrick is offline  
Old 10-01-2004, 07:36 PM   #7 (permalink)
Insane
 
Location: Alton, IL
I'd go for it even at 50% but only if the damned government didn't get to take out a share.
gondath is offline  
Old 10-01-2004, 08:02 PM   #8 (permalink)
... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.
 
Willravel's Avatar
 
$100 mil is a big chunk of change, but it's not worth such a gamble, even at 99% possibility of success. The only way I would accept is if a family member needed the money that wasn't available otherwise. Example: brother needs heart surgery and insurance bailed, or daughter is kidnapped by terrorists. Of course such occasions are obviously not the norm, so I'll stick with no thanks overall.
Willravel is offline  
Old 10-01-2004, 08:57 PM   #9 (permalink)
Psycho
 
Meier_Link's Avatar
 
Location: in a state of confusion
99% is an acceptable level of risk. 50 or 75% still leaves a good chance of losing, but 99% is close enough to a sure bet for me.
Meier_Link is offline  
Old 10-02-2004, 10:11 AM   #10 (permalink)
Registered User
 
radioguy's Avatar
 
Location: Texas
NO WAY!!! my life is more valuable than the money......at least i think it is!
radioguy is offline  
Old 10-02-2004, 08:47 PM   #11 (permalink)
Crazy
 
Location: Minnesota
Just goes to show that most people still value their life over money.

I wonder if I could resist if I were ACTUALLY presented with this option. I think I could. I'm getting married, I wouldn't miss myself, but a few other people would.
LeviticusMky is offline  
Old 10-02-2004, 09:27 PM   #12 (permalink)
Tilted
 
Location: Chicago
Yes, but only if I had to pay some gangster 100M to not be killed.
__________________
Never anything witty.
livingfossil is offline  
Old 10-06-2004, 06:23 AM   #13 (permalink)
Insane
 
Location: California
I've rolled enough "1"s playing D&D to know not to risk my life even on a 99:1 shot at getting all that cash.

Although... anybody know what the death rate in Iraq is for soldiers? It might be like 1 in 100. Of course, I really wouldn't want to go to Iraq, either, not even for $100 million.
mo42 is offline  
Old 10-06-2004, 06:28 AM   #14 (permalink)
Upright
 
Location: Lexington, KY & Hanover College
What your asking is if we would trade money for our lives. What have we become when money is absolutly all we focus on. We are no longer people but some lesser being. I know i can't be bought.
Anyway, you can't even buy a small tropical country with $100 million. What's the point...
__________________
There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to pet wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.
-(Hagakure, book 2)
Mr. Skillman is offline  
Old 10-06-2004, 07:34 AM   #15 (permalink)
Devoted
 
Redlemon's Avatar
 
Donor
Location: New England
No at 99.999%.
Redlemon is offline  
Old 10-08-2004, 12:33 AM   #16 (permalink)
Insane
 
tiberry's Avatar
 
Location: Location, Location!
This is clearly a values question - Do you value your life more than money? Any assignment of $ figures is almost irrelevant.
__________________
My life's work is to bridge the gap between that which is perceived by the mind and that which is quantifiable by words and numbers.
tiberry is offline  
Old 10-14-2004, 12:09 PM   #17 (permalink)
Upright
 
the thing is if you don't, the amount of money you have right now will be worthless because of all the people that are winning.

i propose a boycott...

who wants to go live in a utopia?
EnviousElitist is offline  
Old 10-14-2004, 03:53 PM   #18 (permalink)
zen_tom
Guest
 
What if you had to keep playing every week or give the money back? What odds would people go for then?
 
Old 10-16-2004, 09:18 AM   #19 (permalink)
Helplessly hoping
 
pinkie's Avatar
 
Location: Above the stars
Hell no!!!!!
pinkie is offline  
Old 10-16-2004, 09:26 AM   #20 (permalink)
Addict
 
Master_Shake's Avatar
 
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
As long as the death isn't a painful one.
__________________
-------------
You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.
Master_Shake is offline  
Old 10-16-2004, 09:48 AM   #21 (permalink)
Upright
 
at 75% odds? sure why not....lottery tickets = pocket money...you swear that a couple bucks will deplete your bank account....now with saying that...i'd play only if i knew i had that 75% chance of winning...its not like an everyday thing mind you
beta18 is offline  
Old 10-16-2004, 10:03 AM   #22 (permalink)
Upright
 
Location: Antigonish, NS, Canada
I said yes at 50%, and it's not because I don't value my current life, my current life rules. It's just that I know after university I'm going to have to work, and I'm not so great at working, and the thought of having 100 million dollars would seriously make life unfathomablly more enjoyable....so the pros so outweigh the cons! lol. Besides, I'm gonna die eventually, I might as well die "for a good cause", lol.
EmotivE is offline  
Old 10-16-2004, 11:45 PM   #23 (permalink)
Crazy
 
Location: Reality
If there's one thing I've learned considering luck or chance, it's that I will always lose. Some powerful, mystical, deity out there does not want me to win at anything involving luck (note Yahtzee). I would not wager my life at any percent.
The Magic is offline  
Old 10-17-2004, 10:04 AM   #24 (permalink)
Twitterpated
 
Suave's Avatar
 
Location: My own little world (also Canada)
HELL NO. Maybe once it got to 99% odds in my favour, but I'd rather not risk certain death for some quick cash.
Suave is offline  
Old 10-17-2004, 03:22 PM   #25 (permalink)
Tilted
 
Sure, why not. If I lose, I won't be around to care anyway
__________________
Shazbot
fuhrerhat is offline  
Old 10-18-2004, 07:21 PM   #26 (permalink)
MSD
The sky calls to us ...
 
MSD's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: CT
There's too much I haven't done yet to risk not being able to do any of it.
MSD is offline  
Old 10-19-2004, 01:07 PM   #27 (permalink)
Life's short, gotta hurry...
 
Grancey's Avatar
 
Location: land of pit vipers
No way. Absolutely not. I have horrible luck.
__________________
Quiet, mild-mannered souls might just turn out to be roaring lions of two-fisted cool.
Grancey is offline  
Old 10-19-2004, 11:08 PM   #28 (permalink)
Tilted
 
Location: Oregon
I voted no. I think entering a lottery like this would be a selfish choice. I would like to think that if I lost, it wouldn't just be me that would be losing but everyone that loves me such as my parents and it wouldn't be right to do that to them (plus I like my life).
jenjen is offline  
Old 10-19-2004, 11:51 PM   #29 (permalink)
Upright
 
Location: Florida
I'd only do it if I was comfortable with ending my life.
Debil is offline  
Old 10-20-2004, 12:16 AM   #30 (permalink)
Upright
 
Location: South Australia
Aack, definitely not. Perhaps if I was in dire straights I'd take the 99% option but really, living poorly for a while beats being killed any day.
CatharticWeek is offline  
 

Tags
thread

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:38 AM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360