首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
Lotteries are a regressive tax on those who can’ t do math, runs the famous old saying. "Nonsense!" retort critics. "For a dolla
Lotteries are a regressive tax on those who can’ t do math, runs the famous old saying. "Nonsense!" retort critics. "For a dolla
admin
2015-09-30
60
问题
Lotteries are a regressive tax on those who can’ t do math, runs the famous old saying. "Nonsense!" retort critics. "For a dollar, one can purchase the fantasy of being wealthy beyond dreams of avarice. It is cheap at the price. "
Over at Overcoming Bias, Eliezer Yudkowsky says "But isn’t that a waste of hope?" But consider exactly what this implies. It would mean that you’re occupying your valuable brain with a fantasy whose real probability is nearly zero a tiny line of likelihood which you, yourself, can do nothing to realize. The lottery balls will decide your future. The fantasy is of wealth that arrives without effort without conscientiousness, learning, charisma, or even patience.
Which makes the lottery another kind of sink: a sink of emotional energy. It encourages people to invest their dreams, their hopes for a better future, into an infinitesimal probability. If not for the lottery, maybe they would fantasize about going to technical school, or opening their own business, or getting a promotion at work—things they might be able to actually do, hopes that would make them want to become stronger. Their dreaming brains might, in the 20th visualization of the pleasant fantasy, notice a way to really do it. Isn’t that what dreams and brains are for? But how can such reality-limited fare compete with the artificially sweetened prospect of instant wealth not after herding a dot com startup through to IPO, but on Tuesday?
Seriously, why can’t we just say that buying lottery tickets is stupid? Human beings are stupid, from time to time - it shouldn’t be so surprising a hypothesis.
Unsurprisingly, the human brain doesn’t do 64-bit floating point arithmetic, and it can’t devalue the emotional force of a pleasant anticipation by a factor of 0. 00000001 without dropping the line of reasoning entirely. Unsurprisingly, many people don’t realize that a numerical calculation of expected utility ought to override or replace their imprecise financial instincts, and instead treat the calculation as merely one argument to be balanced against their pleasant anticipations an emotionally weak argument, since it’s made up of mere squiggles on paper, instead of visions of fabulous wealth.
This seems sufficient to explain the popularity of lotteries. Why do so many arguers feel impelled to defend this classic form of self-destruction?
This seems rather extreme. The human brain is wired to feel many irrational desires, like love, and the yearning to produce a squalling mess of an infant that will hoover up all your available cash, plus 10%, for the foreseeable future. We don’t try to edit those out. Given that the human being is irrationally unable to discount a potential pleasure down by the exact expected probability, shouldn’t we exploit this trait in order to cheaply produce large utility gains?
By saying "But isn’t that a waste of hope?" Eliezer Yudkowsky means that______.
选项
A、few people fantasize wealth arriving easily
B、buying lottery isn’t necessarily a waste of hope
C、lottery is a fantasy with little real probability to realize
D、your future shouldn’t be decided by random lottery balls
答案
C
解析
根据第二段第二句“It would mean that…a fantasy whose real probability is nearly zero—atiny line of likelihood which you.yourself,can do nothing to realize”。C应为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/ZXzZ777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Ithasbeennecessarytoreferrepeatedlytotheeffectsofthetwoworldwarsinpromotingallkindofinnovation.Itshouldbe
Ithasbeennecessarytoreferrepeatedlytotheeffectsofthetwoworldwarsinpromotingallkindofinnovation.Itshouldbe
Ithasbeennecessarytoreferrepeatedlytotheeffectsofthetwoworldwarsinpromotingallkindofinnovation.Itshouldbe
Ithasbeennecessarytoreferrepeatedlytotheeffectsofthetwoworldwarsinpromotingallkindofinnovation.Itshouldbe
Ithasbeennecessarytoreferrepeatedlytotheeffectsofthetwoworldwarsinpromotingallkindofinnovation.Itshouldbe
TheEconomistrecognizesthesetalentedpeoplethroughitsannualInnovationAwards,presentedinsixfields:bioscience,comput
TheEconomistrecognizesthesetalentedpeoplethroughitsannualInnovationAwards,presentedinsixfields:bioscience,comput
Asagiantofthestockmarket,Appleisunusual.Formuchofthepast20years,threecompanieshavealternatedintheroleof
Asagiantofthestockmarket,Appleisunusual.Formuchofthepast20years,threecompanieshavealternatedintheroleof
October24,1929.BlackThursday.Onthisinfamousday,theNewYorkStockExchangewashitwithchaosthatquicklyamountedto
随机试题
电子仪表的优点是_______。
制定村民委员会具体选举办法的机构是()
中国新民主主义革命过程中,工人阶级最可靠的同盟军是【】
Afterthedivorceshe______nevertomarryagain.
氯丙嗪治疗精神分裂症时最常见的不良反应是
2011年5月6日,甲公司与乙公司签约,约定甲公司于6月1日付款,乙公司6月15日交付“连升”牌自动扶梯。合同签订后10日,乙公司销售他人的“连升”牌自动扶梯发生重大安全事故,质监局介入调查。合同签订后20日,甲、乙、丙公司三方合意,由丙公司承担付款义务。
关于审判监督程序,下列哪些选项是正确的?(2014年试卷二第75题)
用友报表系统中,报表数据文件还能够被转换成的文件格式包括()。
内存的计量单位称为字节(Byte),并且规定1024Byte=1KB。()
我国社会工作行政改革的主要内容是功能更新、()、组织结构更新。
最新回复
(
0
)