Economic "risk" means something different than ordinary risk. When a big strong creature swaggers around, ready to take on all comers, while a small meek creature cowers in a corner, avoiding attention or conflict, we might call the swaggering one risk-loving, and the cowering one risk-averse. Economists are careful to note, however, that they mean "risk" to connote a tolerance for variance – and it could be that by swaggering the big one