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Against The Gods
“This book tells the story of a group of thinkers whose
remarkable vision revealed how to put the future at the service of the
present. By showing the world how to understand risk, measure it, and
weigh its consequences, they converted risk-taking into one of the prime
catalysts that drives modern Western society. Like Prometheus, they
defied the gods and probed the darkness in search of the light that
converted the future from an enemy into an opportunity. The
transformation in attitudes toward risk management unleashed by their
achievements has channeled the human passion for games and wagering into
economic growth, improved quality of life, and technological progress.”
Page 1- The Introduction – From “AGAINST THE GODS”
Until we can distinguish between an event that is truly random and an
event that is the result of cause and effect, we will never know whether
what we see is that we’ll get, nor how we got what we got from a
decision we have made, though we do not know for certain what the
outcome will be. The essence of risk management lies in maximizing
the areas where we have some control over the outcome while minimizing
the areas where we have absolutely no control over the outcome and the
linkage between effect and cause is hidden from us.” Page 197 –
Chapter 12, “The Measure of Our Ignorance” From “AGAINST THE GODS”
Perhaps
this book should have been called “The Taming of Risk” It makes you
think about risk as well as reward in new and productive ways.
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