22 Quotes by Peter L. Bernstein

The Reformation meant more than just a change in humanity's relationship with God. By eliminating the confessional, it warned people that henceforth they would have to walk on their own two feet and would have to take responsibility for the consequences of their own decisions.

The word 'risk' derives from the early Italian risicare, which means 'to dare'. In this sense, risk is a choice rather than a fate. The actions we dare to take, which depend on how free we are to make choices, are what the story of risk is all about. And that story helps define what it means to be a human being.

Game theory says that the true source of uncertainty lies in the intentions of others.

Our lives teem with numbers, but we sometimes forget that numberss are only tools. They have no soul; they may indeed become fetishes.

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.

Fear of harm ought to be proportional not merely to the gravity of the harm, but also to the probability of the event.

Markets look a lot less efficient from the banks of the Hudson than from the banks of the Charles.

We are prisoners of the future because we will be ensnared by our past.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket.