2013-06-07

the risk perspective

You and I make many decisions every day. Most are trivial, we don’t even think of them as decisions. (Should I wear grey socks?) Once in a while, we face an important decision. (Should I buy this house?) How can I make a smart choice?

In the best of worlds, there would be a guideline for every situation. Someone wiser than me would have foreseen the choices I face and offered his wisdom.

In the real world, in the absence of this monumental handbook, we have to fend for ourselves. One important tool is thinking of risk. What are my alternatives and what consequences will they carry? The risk perspective.

2 comments:

Nick Nielsen said...

I have to disagree with you that the best of worlds would involve an exhaustive rule book that would determine all decisions. This strikes me as an uninteresting world, and probably also an unpleasant one.

In any case, the distinction you make here between trivial and important decisions suggests to me that the idea of a trivial decision might be developed in terms of the liberty of indifference. If you sleep on or left side or right side, or if you wear gray socks or black socks, would be classic examples of the liberty of indifference.

stromsjo said...

It does sound rather boring, doesn't it, slavishly following a handbook covering all facets of work and play. And therein lies a lesson, methinks. Maybe the safest world would not be the most agreeable world? And what would that imply about our personal appetite for risk?

20240205