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164 Don’t Make Me Say I Told You So

millions who perished in the sands of the Iran-Iraq
war in the 1980s.

But now, almost daily, we see live broadcasts of the

effects of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), or car
bombs, or rockets. Tragic events, to be sure, but often
with death tolls under 10. The randomness of terrorist

violence, the targeting of civilians, and the ease with

which modern societies can be penetrated add to
our disquiet. “That could have been me,” people say
after a terrorist attack.

It feels like a very dangerous world, but it isn’t. Your chances
of dying as a consequence of organized violence of any kind are

low and getting lower. 1

The point of these financial publications and television and
radio shows devoted to investing is not to help you – it’s to sell

soap and tires. That’s how these organizations make money.
They are trying to get you to buy something from them or their

advertisers. To do that, a lot of minor stories are overblown into
major stories, presented as events that will have a big impact

on our lives, or, in some cases, put our lives at risk.

I have nothing against financial journalists. I’m saying that

they’re being asked to do a job that’s impossible. They are
being asked to come up with something to say about personal

Chapter 4: The Most Common Investor Mistakes