Delphic Maxim 120: Venture into danger prudently
I’ve set myself the challenge of responding to each of the Delphic Maxims for 15 minutes a day.
120. Venture into danger prudently
Poor Odysseus. He was always known as the strategic and clever one (or to the Trojans, the wily, cunning, treacherous one). Odysseus’ role in the Trojan War, and one of the main reasons he unlike so many other heroes survived it, was as a master tactician and strategist. He thought carefully — he ventured in danger prudently. Odysseus naturally took risks. He was a great king and a great leader, he cared about his men, but he also supported his friends and allies (and I think he was one of the Greeks who least expressed hatred of the Trojans, unlike Menelaus or Agamemnon, but then Odysseus wasn’t slighted by Paris as these men were).
But at the same time, he was cursed by fate (or by the gods, more accurately). His voyage back to Ithaca took years, because he was blown off course, confronted by witches and monsters and cyclopes and struggle. He was mostly prudent, and would have avoided danger if he could, but the danger into which he had ventured was more than he could prepare for.
The scouts motto, as I understand it from American pop culture, is always be prepared. I like it. It’s not asking us to be timid or to avoid danger, it’s simply saying that when we do venture into danger, we do it with caution and preparedness. Prudence is a virtue in so many ways, and coupled with courage it is a powerful driver of character. It’s one of the reasons I find the character of Odysseus so admirable: he was brave, prepared to confront danger, and prudent and strategic in his approach to it.
You could also think of this maxim as a representation of exposure to risk. Nassim Taleb — who I’ve spoken about many times — describes the benefits of exposure to positive black swans (unpredictable and exponential boons), and the need to minimise downside. This is a classic instance of venturing into danger — or risk — prudently. We tend to be risk averse, and that makes perfect sense as a species. Why would an organism like humans — at least before we developed technology — expose ourselves to danger? There are some instances, but in the main it’s safer to avoid risk altogether.
However, as strategic, forward-thinking and imaginative creatures, with all of our technology and social brilliance, we actually have a capability for preparing for risk and danger that changes the odds a bit. Risk often carries reward, right across the gamut of professions. Writers often talk about the need to show vulnerability (I even feel that as I press through these maxims — is this total shit (mostly), am I wasting my time (possibly), do people think this is a load of crap?). And professionally, it’s the risk-takers who generate new and exciting ideas — they create conditions that are fertile for positive black swans.
The common factor here, the saving factor, is prudence and strategy. It’s not putting all of our eggs in one basket. It’s about minimising downside. I almost wonder, given this whether Odysseus is a good example — because what did he gain for all the danger he exposed himself to? Honour, I guess, which I’ve spoken about a lot previously, and probably meant a lot more back then that it does today.
The lesson from this maxim? Take professional risks — and not in the asinine way you read about from motivational speakers and trash TV (I quit my job and it changed my life!). Be prudent, but at the same time have faith in your big ideas — run with them for a bit, write them down, play with them, put them out there. As long as you’re prudent and strategic, there’s only upside.
