“The four most dangerous words in finance are 'this time is different.' Thanks to this masterpiece by Carmen Reinhart at the University of Maryland and Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard, no one can doubt this again. . . . The authors have put an immense amount of work into collecting the data financial institutions needed if they were to have any chance of making quantitative risk management work.” IfsDifferentChanceDoubtFourRiskDangerousAmountNeededManagementInstitutionsUniversityFinancialFinanceThanksDataImmenseMasterpieceCollectingHarvardRisk ManagementFinancial InstitutionsKennethMaryland Author:Martin Wolf
“We look at all the polls, not just the Gallup Poll. So, it's kind of like if you have, you know, four out of five doctors agree that reducing cholesterol reduces your risk of a heart attack, Gallup is like the fifth doctor.” IfsKnowsLooksHeartKindFiveFourRiskDoctorsAgreeFifthPollsReducingHeart AttackCholesterol Author:Nate Silver
“Benjamin Franklin refused to have one of his children vaccinated against smallpox. The four-year-old boy died, and Franklin wrote later of how mistaken he was to expose him to the needless risk.” YearsChildrenBoysFourRiskDiedFour YearsMistakenFranklinSmallpox Author:Michael Specter
“Missionaries in the developing world waste a lot of time and money (not to mention the goodwill of non-Christians) proselytizing to the needy. . . . While missionaries do many noble things at great risk to themselves, their dogmatism still spreads ignorance and death. By contrast, volunteers for secular organizations . . . do not waste . . . time telling people about the virgin birth of Jesus. Nor do they tell people in sub-Saharan Africa - where nearly four million people die from AIDS every year - that condom use is sinful.” PeopleWorldYearsStillsUseChristianReligionDiesJesusMillionsFourRiskIgnoranceBirthWasteOrganizationSpreadNobleAidsDevelopingWasting TimeContrastSecularVolunteerVirginsGoodwillNeedyCondomDogmatismTime And MoneyGreat RiskProselytizingVirgin BirthSub Saharan AfricaJesus BirthCondom Use Author:Sam Harris
“Four hundred top-decision makers listed the myriad looming threats to global security, including famine, terrorism, inequality, disease, poverty and climate change. Yet when we tried to address each diverse force, we found them all attached to one universal security risk: fresh water.” FoundForceWaterDecisionPovertyFourRiskSecurityDiseaseHundredUniversalThreatClimateClimate ChangeIncludingTerrorismInequalityAddressesMakersDiverseFamineLoomingDecision MakersFresh Water Author:Margaret Catley-Carlson
“According to the CDC, more than one in three women and one in four men in the United States have been victims of domestic violence. It is a widespread public health problem, and every year 1,600 women and 700 men are killed by their intimate partners. One of the biggest risk factors that domestic violence will become fatal is the presence of a gun.” MenYearsHas BeensStatesProblemThreeUnitedUnited StatesFourViolenceRiskGunVictimPartnersFactorsIntimateDomestic ViolencePublic HealthHealth Problems Author:Melissa Harris-Perry