Radical Uncertainty

Decision-making for an unknowable future

Mervyn King, John Kay

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English

The Bridge Street Press
31 August 2021

History of ideas; Social forecasting, future studies; Economics & Business; Economics; Economic forecasting; Economic history

'A brilliant new book'

Daily Telegraph

'Well written . . . and often entertaining'

The Times

'A sparkling analysis'

Prospect

When uncertainty is all around us, and the facts are not clear, how can we make good decisions?

We do not know what the future will hold, particularly in the midst of a crisis, but we must make decisions anyway. We regularly crave certainties which cannot exist and invent knowledge we cannot have, forgetting that humans are successful because we have adapted to an environment that we understand only imperfectly. Throughout history we have developed a variety of ways of coping with the radical uncertainty that defines our lives.

This incisive and eye-opening book draws on biography, history, mathematics, economics and philosophy to highlight the most successful - and most short-sighted - methods of dealing with an unknowable future. Ultimately, the authors argue, the prevalent method of our age falls short, giving us a false understanding of our power to make predictions, leading to many of the problems we experience today.

Tightly argued, provocative and written with wit and flair, Radical Uncertainty is at once an exploration of the limits of numbers and a celebration of human instinct and wisdom.

By: Mervyn King, John Kay
Imprint: The Bridge Street Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 190mm, Width: 126mm, Spine: 36mm
Weight: 440g
ISBN: 9780349143996
ISBN 10: 0349143994
Pages: 560
Publication Date: 31 August 2021
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary & secondary/elementary & high school , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Mervyn King was Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, and is currently Professor of Economics and Law at New York University and School Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics. Lord King was made a life peer in 2013, and appointed by the Queen a Knight of the Garter in 2014. John Kay is a visiting professor at the London School of Economics and a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford. He is a director of several public companies and contributes a weekly column to the Financial Times. He chaired the UK government review of equity markets which reported in 2012 recommending substantial reforms. He is the author of many books including Other People's Money, The Truth about Markets, The Long and the Short of It and Obliquity.