1. 37-38 – Do you think that the different attitudes toward
gambling in
Children are reflected in adult gamblers
today? If you go into a casino, will you find a gambler of every
kind mentioned in the story?
2. 40 – “Life is a gamble, at terrible odds – if it was a bet you
wouldn’t take it.” What is the meaning and impact of this quote?
Is living worth facing the odds of failing?
3. 50 – Do you agree with the statement that our ancestors are
“infinitely more gross, servile, and even dishonest, than you.”?
4. 67 -70 – Who do you think was in the wrong in
The
Professor’s Yarn? With both sides trying to swindle each
other, is anybody really the bad guy?
5. What kind of pressures inspire people to continue gambling when
they have reached a "limit"?
6. The quote from Francis Bacon on p. 78 describes people
stacking the deck to their advantage and still not playing well.
What does this behavior expose about people? In what situations,
other than gambling, do people "stack the deck and not play
well"?
7. The quote from Samuel Foote on p. 63 asserts that "Death
and the dice level all distinctions". To what degree do you
agree or disagree with this statement?
8. Do you feel that pride plays a large role in gambling addiction?
9. Do people tend to perform better when the odds are against them? Or does the anxiety of knowing failure is more likely break them down?
10. “He nourished a conviction that there must be some logic lurking somewhere in the results of chance.” (pg.41) How does this statement relate to how gamblers today view their chances in the casino?
11. What point do you feel the end of Goldsmith’s Essay is trying to stress?