John and James live in a semi-totalitarian state when it comes to television sets—you can’t buy one outright, but you can apply for lottery tickets to win a new TV whenever you like. Occasionally, they even send lottery tickets directly to your email.

The only catch is that 99% of the TV descriptions are almost identical—they tell you what channels you’ll get, but not the quality or variety of the programmes. Sometimes, they claim the TV is great, but it turns out to be less impressive than advertised. Plus, you’re required to return your old TV when you receive the new one, making it a bit of a gamble – you might trade in your current set for one that looks fine but isn’t as good as what you had before.

On top of that, there’s a supply and demand issue—sometimes they have too many TVs, and other times people’s TVs are taken away with almost no notice. And even if you enter the lottery, there’s no guarantee you’ll actually get a new one.

There’s just one rule—you must spend a specific amount of time interacting with and watching your TV. If you don’t, they start removing channels. The upside is that if you’re diligent, watching and engaging with it until you’ve mastered the scenes and dialogue, you might qualify for an upgrade with more channels and better programmes—but again there’s no guarantee.

John’s never truly loved his current TV, and he knows he could have invested more time in it. Recently, the authorities started removing channels because he hasn’t been watching enough. He couldn’t connect with some of the characters, and a few channels went right over his head. Six months ago, he was reduced to watching repeats, and now he’s stuck in TV hell—forced to meet the minimum viewing hours, or they’ll take the TV away altogether.

He’s reached a point where any TV seems better than the one he has, so he enters the lottery. Fortunately, there are plenty of TVs to choose from. With nothing to lose, he figures the next one can’t be worse than his current setup – and it gives him a chance to start fresh – if it doesn’t work out he can always do the lottery again.

James, on the other hand, has invested a lot of time in his TV and is on his third upgrade. Eighteen months ago, he qualified for and was lucky enough to get a new TV with more channels, which he thoroughly enjoyed. He put in the effort, mastering the dialogues and scenes, and now he even has some ideas on how the programs could be improved. However, he’s hit a wall again and is stuck with repeats. Unlike John, James isn’t suffering—his channels are excellent, and he still finds new details in the programs that keep him entertained for now. But he would welcome a new TV if it came with a guarantee that it would be better than his current one.

He checks the lottery and gets regular messages, but all the TVs look the same, so he’s hesitant to get involved—it feels too much like a gamble. Occasionally, he spots a description that stands out from the usual 99% and applies, but otherwise, he’s reluctant to waste his time. After all, he’s still enjoying his current TV really.