You’re much more likely to be struck by lightning or die in a shark attack than win the Powerball or Mega Millions. And yet Americans spend over $80 billion annually on these tickets. So what gives? Apparently, it’s this inextricable human urge to gamble and fantasize about becoming rich. It’s a big part of the meritocratic myth that we’re all going to be rich someday, and it goes hand-in-hand with this inability to see just how irrational lottery play is.

Lottery marketing focuses on two messages primarily. First, they emphasize that state governments benefit from the revenue. But I’ve never seen that put in the context of overall state budgets or even a percentage of total state revenue. It seems to be coded into our brains that purchasing a lottery ticket is actually something of a civic duty. Secondly, they promote the idea that winning the lottery will solve all our problems and make us happy, again in this sense of meritocracy. This is a very dangerous message in a society where inequality and stagnant incomes have increased and social mobility has plummeted.

While it’s true that a small portion of the money spent on lottery tickets is used to help local schools, it’s also important to remember that most state-run lotteries are simply gambling. And that’s a bad idea for a variety of reasons. Lotteries can be addictive, can lead to a false sense of security (since you’re not necessarily giving up your right to gamble) and can deprive you of the chance to save money for more important purposes like college tuition, emergencies or retirement.

Lotteries are not a new phenomenon. In fact, they have been around for hundreds of years. Throughout colonial America, they were used to fund canals, roads, libraries and churches. And they continued into the early years of American independence, when they helped finance the wars with England and France and the building of Princeton and Columbia universities.

During the post-World War II period, lotteries became a popular alternative to high taxes for state governments that needed additional revenue to expand services for the working class. And as soon as one state legalized a lottery, other states quickly followed suit. This is how the multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries came to be, for example.

If you’re interested in playing the lottery, there are some simple tips to help you make a better decision. Harvard statistics professor Mark Glickman recommends that you avoid picking significant dates, such as birthdays or ages, and instead choose random numbers or Quick Picks. He says that choosing random numbers increases your chances of winning because they’re less likely to repeat than numbers in a sequence, such as 1-2-3-4 or 6-7-8. In addition, he says that you should look for “singletons,” which are the digits that appear on the ticket only once. A group of singletons will signal a winner 60-90% of the time. Watch the video above for more advice on playing the lottery.