The Art of Manliness, a site filled with esoteric and valuable information for guys like yours truly, posted a gem titled, you guessed it, Strip or Retire, a piece discussing why risking something of personal value in undertaking any task is the honorable way to live one's life, something devoutly to be avoided by people who game the system at the expense of others no matter what the cost may be.
As philosopher Nassim Taleb argues in Antifragile: “At no point in history have so many non-risk-takers, that is, those with no personal exposure, exerted so much control.”
Bankers and hedge fund managers make risky investments and trades that contribute to cratering the economy, but avoid punishment while taxpayers pick up the tab.
Corporate CEOs run companies into the ground, but walk away with millions in bonuses.
Journalists write columns that contribute to support for a war or a criminal accusation, but retain their jobs when the claims they made turn out to be false.
Researchers publish “ground-breaking” studies that are later retracted, but do not publicly apologize or admit mistake.
Politicians and media pundits offer analyses and make predictions about current and future events that turn out to be wholly inaccurate, and yet continue to wield power and talk to the cameras night after night.
Read the entire piece as it's filled with interesting factoids that, in indirect fashion, explain why the really important people in the grand scheme of things, take the shot with personal risk as part of the equation in making things happen, no matter what the cost may be.
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