Engineering Risk and Uncertainity

A paragraph to ponder from the February 27, 2013 issue of the Financial Times by John Kay - Telling a story can be more useful than cold, hard maths:

"So while probabilistic thinking is indispensable when dealing with recurrent events or histories that repeat themselves, it often fails when we try to apply it to idiosyncratic events and open-ended problems.  We cope with these situations by telling stories, and we base decisions on their persuasiveness.  Not because we are stupid, but because experience has told us it is the best way to cope.  That is why novels sell better than statistics texts."