Casino Sober: Why Mathematicians Aren't Roulette Fans and What Investors Really Play
So, there's this dude Neil deGrasse Tyson, right? He's like a rockstar in the science world here in the States, hosting this wicked podcast called StarTalk. It all started spinning off from this TV show with the same name on National Geographic. Plus, the guy's churned out some bestselling books, like "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" and "Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries".For those eager to dive deeper into the wonders of the universe as explained by Tyson, just click the next web site for a treasure trove of cosmic knowledge.
Neil's had his fingers in all sorts of space pies, even advising presidents like Bush on cosmic matters. NASA even tossed a medal his way for making space cool for the public. There's an asteroid flying around with his name on it (13123 Tyson), some Indian frogs named after him (Indirana tysoni), and, no joke, People magazine voted him the hottest astrophysicist alive.
This guy breathes science, like, all the time. He's dropping science bombs on flat-Earthers, calling out mistakes in blockbuster movies, weighing in on UFO hearings in Congress, and even figured out where Barbie's Dreamhouse would be based on the sun and moon's positions in the movies. Dude's got skills.
He's got this new book coming out called "StarTalk: Cosmic Queries" which is a blast of essays on everything from why space exploration rocks for tech to whether being a vegetarian is scientifically cool. Forbes gave us a sneak peek.
We scientists are kinda weird, you know? Crunching numbers and equations sorta rewires our brains, making us a bit immune to the crazy stuff most people believe. Take the American Physical Society (APS) - that's a big deal gathering of like 4000 pro physicists. They had this crazy mix-up in '86 with a hotel booking in San Diego and had to switch last minute to the MGM Grand Marina in Vegas, which is a monster of a place with almost 7000 rooms and a giant casino. It's no secret that casinos make bank, but guess what?
During that conference week, the casino made less cash than ever before. Did the physicists beat the house at poker or roulette with their mad skills? Nope. They just didn't play. It's like they've all had a math vaccine against gambling.
PHYSICISTS IN VEGAS: CASINO'S LOWEST EARNINGS EVER
Casinos are like black holes for probability know-how, sucking in the gullible. That favorite roulette number of yours, 27, hasn't come up in forever, does it mean it's due? Nope. Roulette wheels don't remember stuff, and your odds are the same every time. Try it. The croupiers have lists of the last dozen spins, and it's a perfect example of how clueless regular folks are about how probability works. It's sad but our monkey brains just can't handle it.
Dice are sneaky too. Opposite sides add up to seven, right? But the chances of rolling a seven ain't as high as you'd think. And getting an eleven? Good luck, you've got like a 1 in 18 shot. Before you let a casino hoover up your cash, remember these odds.
If you're on a hot streak, the casino bosses know it, watching you through their cameras. They'll send over a friendly bartender with a free drink to throw off your game. It's all about keeping you tipsy and less sharp.
Don't get me wrong, gambling can be a hoot. I've thrown down on roulette myself, picking prime numbers like 2, 3, 5, 7, you get the idea. Statistically, they're no better than any other set of numbers. But if I'm gonna donate my dough to the casino gods, I crunch some numbers first. I set aside $300, enough for a few hours of fun. It's just like blowing cash on a fancy dinner and a night at the opera back home. Funny thing–nobody ever asks how much I lost at the opera.
In the US, the gambling scene is massive. Casinos raked in a record $45 billion in 2021, double NASA's space budget. Then there's the "Powerball" lottery. Folks drop around $100 billion a year on those little dream tickets, hoping for a jackpot or at least to break even. And the more the jackpot grows, the more tickets get snapped up. Buying more tickets does increase your odds, but remember, big jackpots mean more winners to share the loot with.
Take a Tennessee lottery where your chance of winning the jackpot was 1 in 292.2 million. People aren't deterred by those odds, even if getting struck by lightning is 300 times more likely than winning. Weirdly enough, 45 states have given gambling the thumbs up instead of banning it.
Imagine a lady named Clair Voyant in Tennessee hitting the jackpot. She claims she can predict the future - go figure! But the odds of her winning twice? That's 1 in 292.2 million squared, or 1 in 85 quadrillion. Just fun facts for you.
The best argument for lotteries I ever heard was from a colleague's mom. She buys a ticket, dreams about those luxury homes in the real estate brochures for a week, and enjoys her little fantasy. Who am I to ruin her dreams?
The cash from lottery sales usually goes towards stuff like schools and social services, which makes you wonder if we should really vote against legalized gambling. It would be cool if schools taught probability and statistics right from the get-go, and lottery profits funded that. That'd be a real anti-lottery vaccine for everyone.
One time, strolling through McCarran Airport in Vegas, I did what any self-respecting author does: checked a bookstore for my own book. I was ready to sign a bunch to help sales, but no dice. I couldn't find it. Maybe I just missed it, or maybe the store was too small. When I asked where the science books were, the clerk said they didn't have that section. I just walked out, but then I blasted a tweet to my thousands of followers, saying how Vegas bookstores don't want you sharpening your critical thinking before you hit the casinos.
If aliens visited Vegas, they might wonder what kind of creatures would exploit their own weaknesses to funnel money from gamblers into casino coffers. Pretty solid proof we're not the sharpest species around.
Some folks think they're special, that the universe is looking out for them. Here's a thought experiment. Line up 1,000 people and have them flip coins. Statistically, after 10 flips, one person will have all heads or tails. That's the person the news will interview, but it's all random, not some cosmic destiny.
If you think the stock market is all about skill and not luck, think again. At the end of the trading day, all that really matters is whether prices went up or down. And every investment decision you make, someone else is betting the opposite will happen.
Investment news tries to make sense of all the ups and downs, but often, they're just as clueless as the rest of us. A more honest financial news headline would read: "PRICES WENT UP. WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY."