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
war ties advice
Never take advice from anyone in a tie. They'll bankrupt you. Don't ask a general for advice on war, and don't ask a broker for advice on money.
war fighting lasts
If humans fight the last war, nature fights the next one.
war years people
People have the problem of denial. This is one of the things I learned in Lebanon. Everybody who left Beirut when the war started, including my parents, said, 'Oh, its temporary.' It lasted 17 years! People tend to underestimate the gravity of these situations. That's how they work.
war might able
It might be useful to be able to predict war. But tension does not necessarily lead to war, but often to peace and to denouement.
serendipity luck
...maximize the serendipity around you.
weakness
It is a sign of weakness to avoid showing signs of weakness.
delay large members united
In the United States, large corporations control some members of Congress. All this does is delay the corporation's funeral at our expense.
happiness humanity replace trade
Corporations take the humanity out of trade - they take the happiness out and replace it with something that is ugly.
Capitalism has forced everyone to overoptimize in order to compete.
children
You know, children philosophize more than adults - and they are critical of adults.
There are two types of people: those who try to win and those who try to win arguments. They are never the same.
risks
If you take risks and face your fate with dignity, there is nothing you can do that makes you small; if you don't take risks, there is nothing you can do that makes you grand, nothing.
Inequalities of wealth lead to a dispersion in wealth for all.
accounts catholic crusades deeply french greek sceptical school side
If you are an Arabic-speaking, Greek-Orthodox going to a French school it makes you deeply sceptical if you have to listen to three different accounts of the Crusades - one from the Muslim side, one from the Greek side and one from the Catholic side.