This is when my coworkers do it - when it gets above a certain threshold.
I just look at any lottery ticket purchase as throwing your money into a trash can. If they hit the big one, I'll be happy for them. But I know that won't happen, so it doesn't matter. There's nothing to fear there.
Sure, people play the lottery for the "what if" factor and dare to dream stuff. But I think it's just another case of our brains not being able to really wrap around these insanely large numbers (and conversely - miniscule odds of winning).
So what if I go in with 20 other people to increase the odds of winning? It might as well be 20 shades of red in hopes of getting green. It ain't happening.
Oh I certainly understand the probabilities involved.
I explain it to some people this way-- "If I choose the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6, those are
no more nor less likely to hit than a series that seems more sensible like 5,14,23,29,37,48." People really don't understand how incredibly unlikely it is to pull ANY 6 specific numbers out of the hat.
Now, there is perhaps
another reason not to play 1,2,3,4,5,6-- that series is extremely commonly selected. So if it DOES hit, you're going to be sharing with a bunch of people. Of course, you'd still be better off than not having won at all, so there's that.