![The Economic Case Against Winning a $500 Million Lottery (Seriously.)
It’s all about the psychological power of adaptation and relativity with money. Adaptation: At first, the thrill of becoming millions of dollars richer is, well thrilling, but after a while, the thrill wears off. Relativity: Winning the lottery creates an indelible memory, a comparison point, that makes typical life events seem disappointing and boring. Money can buy happiness, if you know how to spend it, but the incidence of winning the lottery does not, on its own, buy much happiness at all. In the long-term, it can be a net cost to life satisfaction.
Read more. [Image: Reuters]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me9bwpn1tL1qcokc4o1_1280.jpg)
The Economic Case Against Winning a $500 Million Lottery (Seriously.)
It’s all about the psychological power of adaptation and relativity with money. Adaptation: At first, the thrill of becoming millions of dollars richer is, well thrilling, but after a while, the thrill wears off. Relativity: Winning the lottery creates an indelible memory, a comparison point, that makes typical life events seem disappointing and boring. Money can buy happiness, if you know how to spend it, but the incidence of winning the lottery does not, on its own, buy much happiness at all. In the long-term, it can be a net cost to life satisfaction.
Read more. [Image: Reuters]
