In a previous post, I talked about why travel is a good use of money, which is largely because people tend to underinvest in experiences and overinvest in material goods even though experiential purchases tend to make people happier than material purchases. Taking this another step, I’ve realized that it doesn’t really make sense for me…
When I write about efficiency, I often use the term “utility“, which can be thought of as a representation of your preferences or what makes you happier. And a large part of using miles and points wisely or conducting your life efficiently requires that you understand your utility function, which means that you understand what…
…or rather, why playing the lottery might make sense, depending on your utility function. I once had a math teacher who proudly proclaimed that she played the lottery every week. She justified this by saying that her ticket had just as much chance to win as any other ticket, and someone often wins, so why…
