People are not inherently lazy, stupid, greedy, and weak, and they don’t need constant guidance. People can become risk literate, by obtaining the basic knowledge required to deal with risks in our fast-paced technological society. This is the main message from Gerd Gigerenzer’s book “Risk Savvy”.
 
-      Experts, including journalists and medical professionals, should communicate risks transparently to empower individuals.
-      Dread risks can impact emotions and decision-making. Addressing conflicting emotions, especially fear, is crucial for effective communication: Understand dread-risk fear, control it using conflicting emotions, and know the actual probabilities involved.
-      Focus on teaching the mathematics of uncertainty and the psychology shaping fears and desires. Distinguish between known risks and uncertainties.
-      The Checkerboard illusion: Intelligence involves going beyond given information and making informed bets based on context.
-      Embrace errors as part of learning and innovation. Positive error cultures drive progress.
-      Fear of litigation leads to suboptimal decision-making in healthcare. Addressing defensive behavior is essential for better patient care.
-      Cultural variations exist in perceptions of risk, from Christmas tree candles to the fear of ghosts, and fears of genetically modified food.
-      Social learning and biological preparedness shape people's perceptions of risks.
-      Family businesses provide an exception to the taboo on gut feelings in decision-making. Open discussions about errors and a focus on long-term development create their distinct corporate culture.
 
Risk literacy empowers individuals to make informed decisions in an uncertain world. It supports continuous learning.

A couple of things that stood out for me:
- Respect the fact that intuition is a form of intelligence that a person can’t express in language. Don’t ask for reasons if someone with a good track record has a bad gut feeling.
- Trust as a strategy is neither good or bad. It all depends on the environment. For instance, trust your banker only if he/she understands the featured financial products AND has no conflicts of interest. As conflicts of interest are the rule instead of the exception, there is no way around basic financial literacy if you don’t want to be taken in every time.