© 2017 Michael
Swickard, Ph.D. Surveys on
American saving and investing indicates many Americans have no investments. Their
plan for old age is to win the lottery. While I agree: “No dreamer too small,
no dream too big,” there are limits to what society should encourage.
People who
understand math do not believe in the lottery. It’s like someone jumping out of
an airplane without a parachute with the intention of landing on something
soft. An action slightly possible but not probable.
The New Mexico
Lottery, under the guise of raising money for education, preys upon math
challenged people. The ads suggest riches will shower down if you buy a lottery
ticket.
The
proceeds from this tax on people who don’t understand math does go to education.
However, it goes to general education, in fact, anything students wants to
study. The tobacco settlement has the tobacco companies funding anti-smoking
campaigns.
Likewise,
the New Mexico Lottery should go directly and entirely to math education. Every
dollar should be channeled to making New Mexico students the envy of the nation
when it comes to math.
The first
time I voiced this position I admit I was just trying to get a rise out of people,
which I did. Upon reflection, I believe I stumbled onto something. If people
can buy lottery tickets with the expectation of winning, they are showing their
lack of math education.
We should take their lack of numerate ability
and use it constructively so that future generations don’t end up in the same
condition. That’s the tobacco settlement method and it applies to people who
lack numerate ability to the point that they think buying two lottery tickets
significantly improves their chances of winning.
The
operational concept most lacking in people who are not numerate appears to be
the ability to think in scale, to judge two things as they relate to each other
in mathematical terms. People can buy a lottery ticket occasionally if the mood
strikes. But at those odds, don’t expect anything but dreams.
Once I was
flying out of Chicago on a commercial airliner. We were on the ground in a long
line of jets waiting to take off. The man next to me confessed that he was
petrified of flying but had to make this trip.
I pointed
out the window. “There are over a hundred jets ready to take off just right here.
Thousands of airplanes are in the air.”
“Gosh,” he
said, “I hope we don’t run into any of them.”
I
continued, “The scale of airline dysfunction (I didn’t want to use the word
‘crash’) is about one plane in two million flights. Not bad odds.”
The guy
next to me brightened slightly. “But what if this airplane is the one in two
million?” he questioned.
“Then
whoever has a window seat gets a good look at it coming.” That sent him back
into gloom. I forgot to ask if he had a lottery ticket, but I bet he did. He needed
some math education.
Posts
