“Many unfortunate human situations unfold […] where people who face very bad options take desperate gambles, accepting a high probability of making things worse in exchange for a small hope of avoiding a large loss. Risk taking of this king often turns manageable failures into disasters.”

— Daniel Kahneman, book Thinking, Fast and Slow

Source: Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011), Chapter 29, "The fourfold pattern", pages 318-319 (ISBN 9780141033570).

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Daniel Kahneman51

Israeli-American psychologist 1934

William J. Bernstein (1948) economist

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 7, Misbehavior, p. 177.

“I don’t think pro bono work [in architecture] is very common and that is because sustainable and resilient architecture is not currently viewed as a necessity. Unfortunately, it takes large scale disasters to expose the failures and negligence in design and construction.”

Jiri Lev (1979)

Source: The Australian Architects Offering Pro-Bono Design Services to Bushfire Survivors https://hivelife.com/architects-assist/.

“You have to be willing to take those risks. … In whatever you are doing, failure is an option. But fear is not.”

James Cameron (1954) Canadian film director

Address http://www.ted.com/talks/james_cameron_before_avatar_a_curious_boy.html/ to the 2010 TED conference (13 February 2010) <br class="br">Context: Imagination is a force that can actually manifest a reality. … Don’t put limitations on yourself. Other people will do that for you. Don’t do that to yourself. Don’t bet against yourself. And take risk. NASA has this phrase that they like, "Failure is not an option." But failure has to be an option. In art and exploration, failure has to be an option. Because it is a leap of faith. And no important endeavour that required innovation was done without risk. You have to be willing to take those risks. … In whatever you are doing, failure is an option. But fear is not.

“Not taking risks one doesn't understand is often the best form of risk management.”

Raghuram G. Rajan (1963) Indian economist

From his book: Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy (2010) https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Fault_Lines.html?id=2RB3j_YfEg0C

“This whole thing is a big gamble, but it's probably the best gamble to take before throwing in the towel and allowing sectarian genocide to take over. I personally give this three to six months to find out.”

Paul Ryan (1970) American politician

2007-02-23
Ryan sees 'last chance' for U.S., Iraq
Craig
Gilbert
Journal Sentinel
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/29326244.html
2012-09-30
in reference to the 2007 Iraq War troop surge