One of the things that struck me as odd when I first starting working in a manufacturing facility is the way we measured safety. The big sign on the way in to the plant indicated the number of days since the last accident. A reminder that unfortunately was set back to “1″ far too often….
Tag Archive: gamble
Luck and Lottery – Conclusion
In Part 1 and Part 2, I was explaining the relationship of chance-taking and outcome. Specifically, we wait in line to buy tickets for highly improbable though favorable outcomes (lottery), and we take chances on unfavorable outcomes because we think they are highly improbable (many other aspects of our lives). We do the former out…
Luck and Lottery – Part 2
At the end of the Part 1 post, I proposed a couple of acronyms: Lottery – Highly Improbable Favorable Outcome (HIFO), I have to consciously decide to buy the ticket. Safety – Highly Improbable Disastrous Outcome (HIDO), I consciously and unconsciously buy tickets. The basic idea I am working from here is that to win the lottery, you need…
Luck and Lottery – Part 1
The most frequently heard lottery stories seem to be related to the misfortune of winning. There are news stories and television programs devoted to the exploration of how winning the lottery results in breakdown of the individual or family involved. We don’t however learn about the countless many who win and do not go on…
2 Situations, an Either-Or Choice in Each
Do you know much about your own decision processes? Are you risk-averse? We think differently depending on how the choices are stated. Consider this situation: You have to choose between either – an 80% chance of winning $4,000 with a 20% chance of winning nothing or – a 100% chance of receiving $3,000 Then look…
Let’s Vote On Safety
I’m not a high volume traveler, but in the last 6 months I have traveled on a more frequent basis. And by travel I mean fly from Atlanta to about three other places with some regularity. I have the flights I would like to get on, and the ones that I try to avoid. And…
Unlucky Day For Your Safety?
Do you consider the number 13 to be unlucky? Or maybe you have an actual fear of the number, which is called triskaidekaphobia. If you do, you wouldn’t be alone. Thirteen is frequently left out when numbering floors in a building or even aisles in an airplane. Yet there are some who consider this a…
I’ll Take Door Number Three
Let’s Make a Deal, starring Monty Hall, was a very popular daytime TV show in my childhood. Monty would find crazed contestants who would trade something trivial to get into the game, and then negotiate upward until they quit or they got a dud of a prize. Sort of like the One Red Paperclip story,…
