Clarence Cheong (whoever that is) wrote the following below. I take it to mean that gambling on pool or golf or an athletic game that you have some knowledge on is good... but stay away from them damn casino games.:smile:
Risk is an essential part of our lives, and instead of doggedly trying to avoid it, we should learn to embrace it in calculated steps.
From the outset, risks are inevitable, an inherent part of our lives. Life is a tapestry of uncertain choices – from choices as life-changing as who to marry, to choices as minute as what to eat for lunch. Uncertain outcomes, by nature, are risky – as mere mortals with incomplete knowledge, we often have limited control over the outcomes of our choices. When we take a leap of faith in committing to a marriage, for instance, there is little we can do to be absolutely certain of about how the marriage would pan out in the decades to come. This makes the choice to marry someone inherently risky, for we have committed ourselves to a relationship that could potentially fail and result in disastrous consequences. Ironically, however, it is precisely because of the potential ramifications of risks that we should seek to maximise our exposure to them. Increased exposure to risks allows us to accumulate experience about the positive and negative effects of our decisions, helping us build up crucial decision-making competencies. Moreover, experiencing risk – and its associated failures – on a constant basis strengthens one’s resilience, fueling the desire and ability to surmount all obstacles in accomplishing great feats of the human spirit.
Furthermore, risk taking stretches human potential, opening the doors to groundbreaking innovations. Revolutionary endeavours are, by definition, unprecedented. To undertake them, therefore, constitutes a certain element of risk, as there are no forerunners to guide the way. In fact, the most remarkable of human enterprises often begin with shot in the dark, a foray into the risky and uncertain depths of the future. This situation is analogous to a team of rock climbers scaling a treacherous mountain. The most experienced mountaineer is often given the most difficult task of leading his team – where others can simply follow and imitate the actions of those above them, the leader has to possess the foresight to chart out a path to the top. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the field of scientific research. Scientific research is only valuable if it presents new information, creating breakthroughs that revoluntionise the world of science. To do so in an industry already saturated with thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of scientists and researchers requires the use of innovative and unprecedented research methods. This presents a huge element of risk – scientists embarking on truly groundbreaking research often have no inkling when, or if at all, they will arrive at conclusive research findings. Yet, research institutes have to make the critical decision to accept the risk of failure whenever they pour millions of dollars into funding a scientific research project. For instance, CERN, a major scientific research institute, received over a billion Euros in funding to build the ‘Large Hadron Collider’. Scientists at CERN had postulated the existence of the Higgs Boson, sometimes enigmatically dubbed the ‘God particle’, and needed astronomical sums of money to pursue this scientific vision. However, for scientists to ascertain the validity of their theories, they have to first receive funding. This made the choice to fund the CERN research project highly risky – if successful, it could bring humanity one step closer towards unraveling the mysteries of our galaxy, if unsuccessful, it would be an utter waste of resources that could have been spent on funding other more promising fields of research. Ultimately, while embarking on unprecedented endeavours may be risky and potentially fraught with difficulties and failure, the paramount glory of being the ‘first’ to scale the peak of a mountain is awarded to those who have endured the risks of being a forerunner and leader to the team.
Additionally, taking risks, especially when successful, rewards greatly. There is often a premium awarded to those who are willing and able to bear with the risks that no one else would. People who stick to the conventional and conservative path are greeted with mediocrity, for they soon fade into a faceless crowd, constituting the nebulous mass of people we call ‘the average Joe’. To be truly outstanding is to be bold, to surge ahead amidst all the risks, prepared to start over in the case of failure. The spirit of taking risks in pursuing one’s passion and interests is embodied within the pro-sporting culture. People who commit themselves to a career in professional sports take on a sizeable risk – the cut-throat nature of professional competitive sports means that only a few athletes will ever make it to the top. The majority of mediocre athletes will struggle to forge a name for themselves, but if they fail, there is nothing for them. Therefore, professional athletes who make it to the big league are rewarded with skyrocketing salaries, a life of fame and excess. It is important that we overcome this phobia of risk – if we have faith in our own ability, we should not allow the looming fear of failure to prevent us from actualising our full potential, and winning the biggest purses.
However, while taking risks has its merits, there must be clear boundaries established on acceptable and unacceptable forms of risk. In particular, there are two things that must be kept in mind whenever risks are taken. Firstly, risks should only be taken in situations when we have some knowledge or control over how the outcome would turn out. Taking a ‘risk’ in the context of gambling is irresponsible, as gamblers often have neither the ability to influence the outcome of the game nor the knowledge of the probabilities involved in gambling. Investment, on the other hand, is a form of acceptable risk taking, as investors make decisions after analysing the economy, and formulating an idea about how the economy would likely respond in the future. Similarly, scientists base their ‘risky’ experiments on hypotheses that are based on solid research and few rely on the gut. Secondly, risk taking should be minimised where the public welfare is at stake. Different people have different thresholds for risk, and we should respect this. Hence, it would be inappropriate for government agencies to invest in risky financial products with the tax-payer’s money.
Ultimately, if ‘risk’ were a drink, it would be a heady concoction of fear, uncertainty, innovation and exploration. There is no escaping risk from our lives, so our best course of action would be to gulp down this gut wrenching cocktail. Bottoms up – and savour the taste of revolutionary achievements.
..Its fine if you don't like to gamble, but you have to know you are in the extreme minority. Gambling is what makes the world go round!
