Successful risk-takers are conscientiously contrarian. They have theories about why and when the conventional wisdom is wrong. There is an oft-neglected distinction between independence and contrarianism. If I pick vanilla and you pick chocolate because you like chocolate better, you’re being independent. If you pick chocolate because I picked vanilla, you’re being contrarian. Most people are pretty damned conformist—humans are social animals—and Riverians are sometimes accused of being contrarian when they’re just being independent.
