Gambling away our citizenship (not to mention our maturity)
"…boosters tell us, grandly, that the sum of all those bets gives us our best forecast of the future — even a workable approximation of the truth. They also offer an unnerving implicit philosophy: that we should relate to the future not as citizens or moralists, problem solvers or advocates, but as gamblers, each of us surveying the horizon of possibility somewhat indifferent to human outcomes and looking instead for a betting edge.
The markets don't concern only matters of grim geopolitical consequence, such as when Iran might lose control over Kharg Island, when China might invade Taiwan or how many different countries Israel will attack this month. No, they offer lighthearted action, too, such as whether the vacuous YouTuber MrBeast will be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2028 (he won't be legally eligible to run until 2036), or about what words would be said in an episode of "The Late Show" (even after the interview in question had already been taped), about just how high the temperature will rise one day in Miami or how much snow might accumulate the next day in Manhattan, on when the United States might confirm the existence of aliens, whether the price of Bitcoin will be up or down in the next five minutes or whether Jesus Christ will return this calendar year...
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