I had breakfast the other day with a new friend who forges paintings for a living. Before I continue, I have to say that once this article appears she will probably not be friends with me anymore, even though I will not mention her name or any other revealing details.

During the past year I’ve lost two friendships because of this column. The first person had won millions of dollars in a competitive event. When I congratulated him on this page, I mentioned a detail that cost him a lucrative sponsorship when the sponsor read the column. But who was to know he would read the Financial Times?