The individual quotes might be provocative, but maybe that's the point. All of life involves some form of risk and grappling with uncertainty. I'm hungry, and need to visit the grocery store to resupply. That means walking, driving or taking some form of transport. And that means nonzero probability of injury or death on the journey. Does that imply that satisfying my hunger for food, invites dalliance with death? Taken literally, yes. It's a speculation. But literal interpretation would be silly and petulant.Personally I think it is a spectrum and I find it interesting that many seem invested in their view of where each falls on the spectrum. Here's a couple relevant quotes.
"Everyone who makes a decision in the absence of complete information about the future consequences of all available opportunities is a speculator. So everyone is a speculator." Paul Heyne – The Economic Way of Thinking (as quoted in Practical Speculation).
"An investor risks 100% of their money in the hopes of receiving a 10% gain. A speculator risks just 10% in anticipation of earning 100%." Doug Casey, The Speculator as Hero – Daily Reckoning 11/2/2005
But in my own example, it probably would be risibly risky (speculative) to hitch-hike to the grocery store. Speculation means starting with a modest and inevitable risk, and amplifying it greatly.