Why Are Lawyers So Unhappy? - Lawyers With Depression: "There is an emotional cost to being part of a win-loss endeavor. In Chapter 3, I argue that positive emotions are the fuel of win-win (positive-sum) games, while negative emotions like anger, anxiety, and sadness have evolved to switch in during win-loss games. To the extent that the job of lawyering now consists of more win-loss games, there is more negative emotion in the daily life of lawyers."
'via Blog this'
4 comments:
Do you think this is also true of athletes?
I think it's possible to play a zero sum game and get utility out of the journey rather than the victory. So, for most athletes, who are playing for fun, probably not. (In the article athletes that are optimistic do better.) My guess is that this is probably very true of professional athletes who are average pros, or who are on the bubble, like Billy Beane was (I'm readying Moneyball).
This brings up another question I've been thinking about: when is something a zero-sum game and when is it not? Why are sports different from gambling in this respect? A basketball game is as much a zero sum game as poker right? Why is one considered moral and one immoral?
Thought you read Moneyball a long time ago when it first came out. Maybe it was your dad reading it and you were just telling me about it.
I think the traditional dividing line between sports and gambling is that sports are a measure of skill and gambling are games of chance. Though that division is a pretty fuzzy one. Sports surely come down to chance quite often and gambling (some games more than others) can certainly be influenced by skill. I'm guessing the chance to skill ratio is still quite a bit higher for gambling.
Plus there's the aspect of playing for money. With sports (outside of professionals) it's usually just bragging rights on the line.
I must have told you what my dad told me, because I never read the book myself.
One difference is sports provide utility/joy to those who watch. So, while the game itself is zero-sum, the performance is not, just like going to the ballet is a performance that gives others joy.
But then I have to wonder, does that make private and casino poker immoral, but poker on TV moral? I think there are lots of people who enjoy watching professional poker.
It amazes me how many of the same people end up at the final table over and over. I don't know that many poker players, but it seems like I always know one or two who are at the final table. Definitely not true of all gambling games, but Texas holdem seems to have a very large skill component.
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