Published by:
Harvard Business Publishing
Length: 4 pages
Abstract
The notion that the future rests on more than just a whim of the gods is a revolutionary idea. It is also a very young idea. A mere 350 years separate today''s risk-assessment and hedging techniques from decisions guided by superstition, blind faith, and instinct. More than any other development, the quantification of risk defines the boundary between modern times and the rest of history. Yet is today''s sophisticataed approach to risk management and decision making an unalloyed blessing? What have we gained by the transformation from superstition to the supercomputer? What does it mean that the elaborate apparatus of probability analysis has supplanted hunches and intuition in business, finance, and other areas?
About
Abstract
The notion that the future rests on more than just a whim of the gods is a revolutionary idea. It is also a very young idea. A mere 350 years separate today''s risk-assessment and hedging techniques from decisions guided by superstition, blind faith, and instinct. More than any other development, the quantification of risk defines the boundary between modern times and the rest of history. Yet is today''s sophisticataed approach to risk management and decision making an unalloyed blessing? What have we gained by the transformation from superstition to the supercomputer? What does it mean that the elaborate apparatus of probability analysis has supplanted hunches and intuition in business, finance, and other areas?