We tend to think of tragedies as a single terrible moment, rather than the result of multiple bad decisions. Can this pattern be reversed? We try — with stories about wildfires, school shootings, and love. (Part one of a four-part series.)

• SOURCES:
  • Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School.
  • Helen Fisher, former senior research fellow at The Kinsey Institute and former chief science advisor to Match.com.
  • Ed Galea, founding director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group at the University of Greenwich.
  • Gary Klein, cognitive psychologist and pioneer in the field of naturalistic decision making.
  • David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database.
  • Aaron Stark, head cashier at Lowe's and keynote speaker.
  • John Van Reenen, professor at the London School of Economics.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Ethan Crumbley: Parents of Michigan school gunman sentenced to at least 10 years," by Brandon Drenon (New York Times, 2024).
  • Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, by Amy Edmondson (2023).
  • "How Fire Turned Lahaina Into a Death Trap," by Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Serge F. Kovaleski, Shawn Hubler, and Riley Mellen (The New York Times, 2023).
  • The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic, by Jillian Peterson and James Densley (2021).
  • "I Was Almost A School Shooter," by Aaron Stark (TEDxBoulder, 2018).

• EXTRAS: 
  • "Is Perfectionism Ruining Your Life?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
  • "Why Did You Marry That Person?" by Freakonomics Radio (2022).
  • "What Do We Really Learn From Failure?" by No Stupid Questions (2021).
  • "How to Fail Like a Pro," by Freakonomics Radio (2019).
  • "Failure Is Your Friend," by Freakonomics Radio (2014).