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Life is everywhere a "gamble."
If we remove the negative connotation from the term "gamble" and understand it as engaging in activities that involve taking certain risks for potential returns, then life truly is a "gamble."
When you take your money out of the safe and deposit it into any bank, you avoid the risk of burglary but also take on the risk of the bank closing, making it impossible to withdraw your money. (Don't think it's impossible – recall the Greek debt crisis from the past few years and the tragedies experienced by the people there.)
Upon graduating from college, you have three choices – studying abroad, starting a business, or finding a job, each with its corresponding risks and different returns.
Entering into a romantic relationship, getting married, and starting a family involve the risks of heartbreak and marital failure, but they also come with the reward of building a beautiful family.
Jaywalking to cross the street gets you the reward of reaching the other side faster, but you also take on the risk of a traffic accident.
Yes, many choices in life involve balancing risks and rewards, a kind of broad "gamble." Many risks and rewards in life cannot be quantified, meaning they cannot be solved mathematically.
Mathematics reflects the highest level of human rationality, but life cannot be simply quantified. As John von Neumann said, if people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is because they do not realize how complicated life is. Indeed, life is much more complex than mathematics, with many risks and rewards that cannot be quantified. |
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