When I was at the Large Boston Investment House where I was initiated into the investment fraternity, I was very much aware–at first–of how little I really knew about investing. (The more I learn, the more I realize that even people who spend their lives studying investing never learn it all, but that’s another story.) My ignorance wasn’t really surprising, since nothing in my earlier life had required such knowledge. Like most college teachers, I had just shipped my monthly pittance off to TIAA-CREF and forgotten about it. (When TIAA-CREF used to advertise themselves as serving people “with better...