Gambling's in our blood, despite ample evidence that it causes a considerable amount of human misery. Here's a nice piece from Psychology Today by Nando Pelusi, a New York psychologist and faculty member at St. John's University.
He says the gambling urge came from ancient ancestors, who literally gambled with their lives trying to find food each day. "[There is a] possibility that a big score could be just around the corner, but you never know where or when you'll hit on it, parallels modern gambling: One more rock overturned and you find dinner."
And this: "For our ancestors, it was actually risky to avoid risk altogether. Sometimes the next big score really is just around the corner. If you find an edible critter behind one in 50 rocks, your foraging pays off, especially when the terrain is safe."
And this: "Playing the slots is designed to feel similarly risk-free, but in reality it's high-risk, low-yield, at least in the long run. You're practically guaranteed a net loss and have only the slimmest shot at the jackpot. Another disadvantage: Gambling doesn't teach you anything new, whereas the risks our ancestors took for survival had a steep learning curve—after overturning four dozen rocks, you've identified some helpful patterns."
I wonder how many people head off to one of the local casinos thinking it's just another wooly mammoth hunt. I know how many come home losers.
Yep, leave it to a psychologist to dream up that theory.