Ranjay Gulati

What is uncertainty?

Uncertainty is not risk.

Uncertainty is where we don't know.

Risk is where you can look at the distribution of outcomes, put probabilities on them, say 10% chance of this, 30% chance of that.

You kind of like lay it out.

The entire field of finance is based on risk, risk management, risk adjudication, all that stuff.

Uncertainty is where you don't know.

One of the worst words you can use to describe somebody is coward.

Well, cowardice is a normal response, running away.

Survival.

Yeah.

If you look at our ancestors, Mike, most of our ancestors were not brave.

The ones who were brave didn't make it.

The ones who made it were the ones who ran and hid when there was danger.

Sometimes.

And yeah, but again, human progress is because a few of them chose to face into danger.

The Wright brothers, when they invented the airplane, guess who flew in the plane?

They did.

That was risky and uncertain, right?

When you have Alexander Fleming injecting himself with penicillin to see if it works.