For every age, and for every culture, there has been a name for the obscure. For Rousseau, it was “the general will,” for Kierkegaard it was “the crowd” and for common conversation it is “they said.” No one knows what a crowd does, but it makes us feel empowered. No one knows who “they”...

Warren Buffett once said, “You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out.” In other words, it is hard to evaluate risk until tested by adversarial conditions. Those who made bad decisions are rewarded with embarrassment. However, in California, the lesson seems to cut...