I recently learned a valuable lesson. Do not, under anycircumstances, Google “chaos theory,” especially at 2 a.m.

Aside from the PropertyCasualty360.comblog spot, I generally refrain from sharing personal musings orperusing those of others. Who has time to read that hodgepodge, letalone comment on said hodgepodge? Well, apparently I do.

While entering some last-minute revisions in the wee hoursof the morning, I came across a blog post that charged that“humanity has failed the test of life” and “begs to be destroyed.”Uh, someone has a penchant for the dramatic. Surprisingly, theauthor did not list the multitude of embarrassing (andvery human) shortcomings that immediately come to mind—such ashubris, thirst for power, brash consumerism, narcissism, chewingwith one’s mouth open at a business dinner, lack of recycling,cutting off cars in traffic, and so on. Instead, he went down anintellectually treacherous path that essentially renders us sillyhumans—you know, including the mere mortals that read his hackneyedblog—responsible for the suffering, loss of life, and extensiveproperty damage stemming from the disasters in Japan, amongst others.

Pitting fable against rationality, the diatribe eventuallypetered out—or I lost consciousness; it is hard to say now—but notbefore the author had accused us of a lack of reverence for “theawesome power of Mother Nature,” failing to plan or predict with absolutecertainty the path and timing of any given calamity. He even blamedthose zany scientists for arrogance in their “clever technology”and ideas. At one point, I remember wondering if I had stumbledupon the website of a conspiracy theorist, but was thrown off byscant statistics attributed to Bloomberg News.

The tenets, or low lights, of this argumentare somewhat inconsequential, even if they do hint at aninteresting philosophical conundrum. The deluge of uncertainties inlife are already scary and infuriating. Now cue eerie, horrificvisions of mangled landscapes—or more specifically, those of the2011 natural disasters and grave realities in dealing with theiraftermath.

On a personal note, I have found few certainties in thisexistence, other than the minute you walk away from your desk orneed to accomplish a task, at least two people will either call oremail. Oh, and that I am destined to run into an ex-beauevery few years while wearing sweatpants and a scrunchie. I alsobelieve that, despite economic perturbations, insurance remains anecessity and a truth I believe in.

Clearly this blogger knows nothing about the weather or thisnoble profession. I dare say he knows little of the world ingeneral. If anyone is capable of restoring order to chaos, asidefrom mathematicians and economists, it is most certainly claims adjusters and their brethren.

So, the Earth is hurling toward a massive lurch. Let’s learn howto resolve all of those claims before the global implosion.Crawford & Company CEO Jeff Bowman has some gloriousinsights that begin on pg. 22. You can also read more of Bowman’sinsights about strategic loss management and crafting a “tone atthe top” that motivates and inspires your own team in the upcomingFebruary issue. Until then, take care.