An Economist Walks into a Brothel

Is it worth swimming in shark-infested waters to surf a 50-foot, career-record wave?Is it riskier to make an action movie or a horror movie?Should sex workers forfeit 50 percent of their income for added security or take a chance and keep the extra money?Most people wouldn't expect an economist to have an answer to these questions—or to other questions of daily life, such as who to date or how early to leave for the airport. But those people haven't met Allison Schrager, an economist and award-winning journalist who has spent her career examining how people manage risk in their lives and careers. Whether we realize it or not, we all take risks large and small every day. Even the most cautious among us cannot opt out—the question is always which risks to take, not whether to take them at all. What most of us don't know is how to measure those risks and maximize the chances of getting what we want out of...