Misc Addiction by Design

People get sick of me mentioning and recommending this book, but anyone who gambles needs to read it.

Natasha Schull is an anthropologist who has written the finest synthesis of research, fieldwork, and industry investigation. She has done a tremendous job putting all of this material in one place.

My readings of academic journals pertaining to these topics was dated. Most of what I had read was from the period when table games out-square-footed machine gambling. I had been waiting for some new summary and overview of the last 20 years.

This book is it.

If you want a healthy antidote to naivete and optimism, I'd read this while also reading Whale Hunt in the Desert. They will sober you up.

 

Oh, my dear man, alcohols drink to be sober. Life is much more complicated than the pursuit of sobriety per se. Happiness is a by-product of much loftier pursuits. On the other hand, solutions to made-up problems are thereby simple. Not necessarily easy, by the way, though simple.

I don't know, all that "bookish" stuff (in place of abundantly clear understanding) sounds like the Devil citing scripture. Or "another brick in the wall".

 

Pardon my frankness, but you'll never find me valuing personal insight over "bookish." And I don't presume that anything is abundantly clear to the point I don't look at hard-earned data. Too much religiosity and hubris thataway.

 

it's about time.

Knowledge is finite; understanding is infinite. Does this mean that we should seek not to understand anything? Harmony is in the balance of the two, of the finite and infinite.

Studying isn't the same as inserting yourself into a problem with the result of either sink or swim. Atheism, eg, is the easy way out. As is handing out the number for GA.

Casino gambling is a mental disorder for the masses. Nobody gets hurt. Right? No. And not of a mass cure. Quite "bookishly" the opposite.

 

"If you want a healthy antidote to naivete and optimism, I'd read this while also reading Whale Hunt in the Desert. They will sober you up."

Add "The Boardwalk Jungle" to that list.

Author Ovid Demaris dispels the oft-stated rumor that organized crime was not involved when casinos came to Atlantic City; the mob was involved in politics, ownership and construction.