Predicting random chaos from hindsight

IT WAS PREDICTABLE. Seung-hui Cho was a taciturn, moody loner. Several professors expressed concerns about the content of his work or conduct. There were complaints by two female students, a tip that he might be suicidal and a 24-hour detention in a mental health facility, but authorities said they had insufficient grounds to hold him. And guns are easy to buy in the United States. As a result, 33 people are dead.

Niall Ferguson

April 23, 2007