Thursday, June 04, 2009

One Woman's Decent

I only get to go a few times a year. Because I never win. And because if I went more often I would use up all my stash money so fast I'd never know what hit me. But still, I rate my hours at the casino as totally pleasurable, totally worth the trip and worth the time. In fact, I'd rate the experience right up there with sex. (Oh jeez, forgive me for being explicit, but you get the point, right?) I'm never happy that I've lost money, and I when I break even I kid myself that I came out ahead simply because I'm going home with the same money I came with. Such is the delusional life of a compulsive gambler like me.
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Before I offer some facts about this keep-it-in-check compulsion of mine, let me SHOW you why I love BEING in this casino. In a nutshell, it is artistically beautiful.
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So why would a perfectly intelligent and reasonably prudent woman like my own self willingly gamble away real money in a matter of hours, happily pulling those slot machine levers and thinking I have a chance every time?
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Here's how it works:
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By Jonah Lehrer
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The growth of the gambling industry has been accompanied by a large amount of new scientific research explaining the effects of gambling on the brain. The neural circuits manipulated by gambling originally evolved to help animals assess rewards, such as food, that are crucial for survival. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter involved with the processing of these rewards. Whenever we experience something pleasurable, such as winning a hand of blackjack or eating a piece of chocolate cake, our dopamine neurons get excited. These neurons help the brain learn about the pleasure, and attempt to predict when it will happen again.
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Wolfram Schultz, a neuroscientist at Cambridge University, has exposed how this system operates on a molecular level. He has spent the last two decades measuring the activity of dopamine neurons in the brains of monkeys as they receive rewards of fruit juice. His experiments observe a simple protocol: Schultz flashes a light, waits a few seconds, and then squirts a few drops of apple juice into the monkey's mouth. While the monkeys are waiting for the sweet liquid, Schultz painstakingly monitors the response of individual cells.
At first, the neurons don't get excited until the juice is delivered. The cells are reacting to the actual reward. However, once the animal learns that the light always precedes the arrival of juice, the same neurons begin firing at the sight of the light instead of the reward. Schultz calls these cells "prediction neurons," since they are more interested in predicting rewards than in the rewards themselves.
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These predictions are a crucial source of learning, since the monkey constantly compares its expectations of juice with what actually happens. For example, if the light is flashed but the juice never arrives, then the monkey's dopamine neurons stop firing. This is known as the "error signal." The monkey is disappointed, and begins to change its future predictions. However, if the monkey receives an unexpected reward -- the juice arrives without warning -- then the dopamine neurons get extremely excited. A surprising treat registers much larger than an expected one.
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"A reward that's unpredictable typically counts three or four times as much," Schultz says.
Games of chance prey on this neural system. Consider, for example, the slot machine. You put in a coin and pull the lever. The reels start to whirr. Eventually, the machine settles on its verdict. Chances are you lost money.
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But think about the slot machine from the perspective of your dopamine neurons. Whenever you win some money, the reward activates those brain cells intent on anticipating future rewards. These neurons want to predict the patterns inside the machine, to decode the logic of luck.
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Yet here's the catch: slot machines can't be solved. They use random number generators to determine their payout. There are no patterns to decipher. There is only a little microchip, churning out arbitrary digits.
At this point, our dopamine neurons should just turn themselves off: the slot machine is a waste of mental energy. But this isn't what happens. Instead of getting bored by the haphazard payouts, our dopamine neurons become obsessed. The random rewards of gambling are much more seductive than a more predictable reward cycle. When we pull the lever and win some money, we experience a potent rush of pleasurable dopamine precisely because the reward was so unexpected. The clanging coins and flashing lights are like a surprising squirt of juice. The end result is that we are transfixed by the slot machine, riveted by the fickle nature of its payouts.






23 comments:

  1. kj I am such a fucking monkey when it comes to those games.

    I don't lose serious money as I don't have any, but I tell you I totally chase whatever I put in.

    Thank you so much for the article. Now when I am tempted to go take out more money to shove in there I will remind myself that I really am a monkey waiting to get a banana.

    My experience at the casino is never as good as sex but our casino is not quite as nice as yours.

    My father-in-law says 'When you gamble you steal from yourself.' Too true.

    I now go with what I can afford to lose and consider it as though I went out for dinner and a movie.

    Love Renee xoxoxo

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  2. kj the dream sounds awesome. Especially of the three of us friends together. We would have a wonderful time.

    Also the chicken salad and the brownies are very do-able.

    How are the boys? Mister Ryan liking his little brother?

    xoxox

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  3. kj you are making me laugh my head off 'was I popular in school' should I be modest? Well, I don't know how to be.

    I am what I always have been.

    Basically I liked everyone and I assumed they liked me too. Nothing has changed.

    But to be perfectly honest I don't even think of it as popular. I think of it as we are all nice people so why wouldn't someone like us.

    Oh my darling girl definitely sits on my knee and lets me kiss her hand.

    xoxoxo

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  4. Personally i think it's all the ~pretties~ around you that sucks you right in X;-) Hey talking about getting sucked in i found Hurley's blog! (From LOST) ...i mention it as you noticed pretty boy Sawyer on ma bloggy a couple of posts ago X;-)

    http://dispatchesfromtheisland.blogspot.com/

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  5. nollyposh, what a riot! i just went there. that is really cool. i like that he only gets 40-50 comments--makes him actually accessible!

    i LOVE lost. and american idol. and dancing with the stars. that is the sum of my tv watching...oh, sometimes i catch up on cnn news.

    i'm glad for your visit.
    xoxo

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  6. I only gamble on certainties KJ and only for chocolate ie two slices of chocolate cake sitting on a plate in front of two people each with a fresh cuppa in front of them ... I Bet I'm going to be one who gets a slice too ;)

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  7. wow wee!! we dont stand a chance against the machines LOL
    Lucky for me i noticed the very first time i went to a casino that i found it addictive so i never really went to one again, now i can go and dont feel the need to spend a cent.
    xxsm

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  8. Hiya KJ, yeah, they do make them opulent looking, dont they? I must be a weirdo or something, I dont get gambling, but several people I know really enjoy it...Im a party pooper, when I know there will be pokie machines about - I bring a book with me and go off by myself and a drink! LOL Im such a freak! LOL

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  9. Gambling...like smoking... better never try it...

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  10. My Mom was obsessed too so I always stayed as far from it as possible, since I am sensitive for all kinds of addictions..................
    The casino looks nice with all that glass! Love colored glass.
    Thanks for taking me there......it has been a while

    Have a nice day!

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  11. Hi Kj, would love to send you a gift to say thank you. Sorry it has been slow return of your beautiful generousity. You can give me your address on my email mosaics336alfie@aol.com I check this one more often.

    Julie-ann:)

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  12. Stick to the machines at the end of the aisles and when you are ahead on any given machine quit and go to another, if you drop a twenty and are down go to another....I won't discuss how much I am ahead lately other than to say it paid two weeks worth of bills.

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  13. Gambling scares the shit out of me, maybe because so many people's dopamine neurons are so transfixed and stupid - just staring waiting for a reward. I say - go eat an ice cream sundae if your neurons need some excitement. I used to babysit for kids in Brooklyn whose parents spend every night gambling at the slots or the horses. They lived in a one bedroom apartment; 4 people. I found it sad.

    Sorry to be a downer!! I didn't mean to be one!!! Glad you like it...really!

    I'll quit while I'm ahead now...

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  14. well, sounds like you and dopamine had a fun time. i wonder if this was the place in Connecticut?

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  15. KJ, I have to admit I don't get it, I hate casinos and I find them anything but beautiful, my mom often drags me to one when she visits. I always feel heavy bad energy and can't wait to get out.
    The good part of this is, I never lose any money unless I play which is rare. Not that I don't have my addictions, I do, but this is not one of them :-).

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  16. KJ....Lovey....

    Im addicted to sex, rock and roll...and my drugs I have to take...but gambling No...LOL..I feel guilty if I buy a scratch off...dammit I spent a 1.00 and could have bought a coke..LOL..The casino is pretty....I will just sit next to ya and look at all the pretty lights in a trance......

    Smiles,
    Sonia ;)

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  17. hey...I'm sneaking in a quick comment because I have a couple of hours to myself before taking Uncle on our next excursion!

    The pics are great!! I still can't do that grid thing. You'll have to teach me how.

    I am too easily sucked into the slots. I'm glad I'm not near a casino! I hate the seediness of those places though. They do bring in the dregs of the dregs~ugh~ people who will sit there all night drinking and smoking and lusting after everyone. A few of them are in my family :P

    I hope this satisfies your gambling urges for a while. Think of all the art supplies you could buy, or jellybeans for Emily!!
    Still, I'm glad you had a fun night!

    Catch you soon. I'm missing everyone!

    xoxo
    Lo

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  18. Two years ago, I had the best day with a friend... we woke up early and spent half the day at Misquamicut Beach. On the way home we hit Mohegan Sun. My lucky day on the slots, I won enough to pay for dinner for both of us (she was driving so I had 2 Cosmo Martinis) and pocketed about $20 more than I arrived with.

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  19. My comment was eaten . .just as well it was a little rude!

    I'm amazed you're allowed to take your camera into the gaming rooms, they won't let you do that out here. The only thing I've ever gambled on is the Melbourne Cup - a horse race held in November and that was just a $10 sweep! Yeh, I have enough other awful addictions! Have a great weekend kj

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  20. Hello darling friend.

    xoxoxo

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  21. In Orleans, on the ocean.

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  22. every one: your comments are a riot. except for walking man, i am pretty much alone in relishing throwing my hard earned money away at the casino. and walking man at least seems to know how to win!

    and i had the stupidity to compare the thrill of it all to good sex. my reputation has faltered but i'm determined to earn it back!

    haha

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  23. ah... gambling...
    i prefer rambling...
    ;)


    a beautiful place!

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