The Saturday Miscellany: How to make the right decision; freeze artists; Clare Furniss' bookshelf

How to: Make the right decision

By Oscar Quine

Life is full of tough calls. Thankfully, Gerd Gigerenzer, author of 'Risk Savvy' (Allen Lane, £14.99) is here to hold your hand through the more difficult of decisions...

"Don't be afraid of making mistakes. As Benjamin Franklin once aptly said, nothing is certain but death and taxes, so errors are inevitable. Every intelligent system, including humans, makes them. Without taking any risks we would come to a standstill."

"Look for a good-enough solution, not an optimal one. When the outcome is uncertain, don't overload your brain with every piece of information you can find – but instead, decide on what factors matter most."

"Learn how to understand risks. Numbers tossed around every day can scare us and lead us to do things not in our best interests. Becoming risk literate will help us see through statistical haze."

Rotating column: Freeze artists

By Mark Ellen

Here's a theory: rock stars are often frozen at the emotional age at which they first became famous. From that point onwards, a put-upon army of dutiful serfs arrives to take care of all the dull, character-forming aspects of adult life – transport, shopping, visa applications – and they're allowed to freewheel in a cocoon of cotton-wool, recording, performing and being their egocentric selves. Michael Jackson was famous at the age of eight: when I interviewed him in his twenties, he'd spent a large chunk of his bottomless wealth on a fairground full of monkeys and machines that made candy-floss. Ozzy Osbourne was a star at 21 and, to this day, seems happiest riding a quad bike. The grumpy, surly and uncooperative 69-year-old Van Morrison hit the charts as a teenager and still behaves like he should be sent off to tidy his room.

‘Rock stars stole my life! a big bad love affair with music’ by Mark Ellen is out now, £18.99, Coronet

Instant Ethics

By Ellen E Jones

Dear Ellen

Q. My girlfriend moved in on the condition that her cat came, too. However, I'm severely allergic. Can I leave the window open so it disappears?

A. Did you forget about this "severe" allergy when arranging the move? Such lack of foresight suggests you'd easily be outwitted by the average feline. Pop a few antihistamines and get on with it.

@MsEllenEJones

Micro extract: End change

"It was perhaps the promoters, the agents, the corporations such as Nike that wished to change the game. The players just loved tennis. That made the freakish and hysterical dramas played out in the Seventies even more bizarre."

From 'Love game: A history of tennis' by Elizabeth Wilson (£15.99, Serpent's Tail)

Four play: Militaristic Kentucky Derby* winners

1. Jet Pilot (1947)

2. War Admiral (1937)

3. Assault (1946)

4. Lieut Gibson (1900)

*first run, today in 1875

Takin' it easy: The unwinnable war

By Larry Ryan

"Culture: there's a lot of the sucker," as someone may have written in a book you never got around to reading. Last week you listened to the new Damon Albarn record; before that, Todd Terje, but you missed Kelis and Future Islands and St Vincent and EMA… And there's all that old music on Spotify you've never gotten around to. Then there's the books. Your Lethems, your Tartts and "What do you mean, you've never read Updike?". And, oh sweet Jesus, here comes Thomas Piketty. Then there's prestige TV, which is the new film but you still want to see the actual new films – and the old films. What's supposed to be fun is becoming a chore. It's an unwinnable war – it's Afghanistan. There's a point when you have to accept defeat and admit you're not going to beat culture. A lot of stuff is just going to have to pass you by.

All good things

By Charlotte Philby

Top shop

High-street jewel Comptoir Des Cotonniers specialises in effortless Parisienne chic. This super-soft 'Rhotinia' cashmere knit (above) is perfect for summery evenings. £125, comptoirdescotonniers.com

Lighten up

Handmade in Oxford from aluminium, chrome and bone china, the new range from Original BTC includes the BB1 Pendant in aqua-marine or yellow (above), with cotton-braid flex. £165, originalbtc.com

Picture this

The limited-edition Annie Leibovitz, Art Edition from Taschen includes a print from the photographer's back catalogue, a book stand, and a hardback of her new book 'SUMO'. Not available until June – start saving now. £3,500, taschen.com