'A model is always wrong, but not useless' — Thomas Wilson

Wilson is the chief insurance risk officer of the ING group.

His deceptively simple but powerfully relevant (to life, among other things) observation appeared in Emanuel Derman's August 22, 2007 Wall Street Journal review of "How I Became a Quant," by Richard R. Lindsey and Barry Schachter.

Derman is the head of risk at Prisma Capital Partners and the director of Columbia University's financial engineering program, as well as being the author of "My Life as a Quant."

You could say that you are the head of risk — for your own life.

I can't speak for you but me, mine keeps me plenty busy.