Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Nassim Nicholas Talebis a Lebanese-American essayist, scholar, statistician, former trader, and risk analyst, whose work focuses on problems of randomness, probability, and uncertainty. His 2007 book The Black Swan was described in a review by the Sunday Times as one of the twelve most influential books since World War II...
NationalityLebanese
ProfessionScientist
CountryLebanon
taken past decision
If you sat with a pencil and jotted down all the decisions you've taken in the past week, or, if you could, over your lifetime, you would realize that almost all of them have had asymmetric payoff, with one side carrying a larger consequence than the other. You decide principally based on fragility, not probability. Or to rephrase, You decide principally based on fragility, not so much on True/False.
age heroism youth
Modernity: we created youth without heroism, age without wisdom, and life without grandeur
nice arrogant action
Just as being nice to the arrogant is no better than being arrogant toward the nice, being accommodating toward anyone committing a nefarious action condones it.
independent wealthy harder
It is much harder to become independent if you are wealthy than to become wealthy if you are independent.
lying growing may
My biggest problem with modernity may lie in the growing separation of the ethical and the legal
mistake light information
A mistake is not something to be determined after the fact, but in the light of the information until that point.
poetry want annoying
If you want to annoy a poet, explain his poetry.
lying people tears
Half of the people lie with their lips; the other half with their tears
men dying age
A man without a heroic bent starts dying at the age of thirty.
order pseudo embrace
You get pseudo-order when you seek order; you only get a measure of order and control when you embrace randomness.
water storm too-late
Banking is a very treacherous business because you don't realize it is risky until it is too late. It is like calm waters that deliver huge storms.
ignorance knowledge together
It has been more profitable for us to bind together in the wrong direction than to be alone in the right one.
technology differences slavery
The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free
hate curiosity no-friends
You will get the most attention from those who hate you. No friend, no admirer and no partner will flatter you with as much curiosity.