Following in the great tradition of Nietzsche and La Rochefoucauld, Nassim Taleb has written The Bed of Procrustes. For those who are interested, the name of the book comes from Greek mythology. Procrustes “the stretcher [who hammers out the metal]”), was a rogue smith and bandit who attacked people by stretching them or cutting off … Read more
In The Minimal Self, Lasch says, “The minimal or narcissistic self is, above all, a self uncertain of its own outlines, longing either to remake the world in its own image or to merge into its environment in blissful union.” The narcissist inhabits a world of struggling fantasy, discovering and fighting battles against the world in … Read more
Nassim Nicholas Taleb started his career as a trader before making the move to academia. His favorite hobby is blasting pseudo-intellectuals, psychologists, expert forecasters, and any kind of person he considers an intellectual phony, which is most intellectuals. He prefers taxi drivers, craftsman, entrepreneurs. The former have a voice but contribute nothing of substance, the … Read more
There are several principles that the Nassim Taleb has talked about, including the precautionary principle, which teaches us to be cautious under conditions of uncertainty. But sometimes, his principles seem to clash with each other. The precautionary principle, for example, would seem to clash with survivorship bias, another mental model that Taleb has popularized. Key Definitions 1. … Read more
Chess grand masters win because they don’t make a mistake. Poker players win because they don’t lose their stack. Investors get rich because they don’t go broke when others do. Athletes become stars because they don’t get injured. It is wiser to follow advice that warns you of what not to do rather than tells … Read more
Taleb’s Incerto concludes with Skin In The Game. This book makes the argument that some people, who are not engaging directly with reality, are not capable of understanding risks. This class of people includes academics (especially in the social sciences), bureaucrats, and advisers. What these people have in common is that they are isolated from … Read more
Antifragile is about how we should measure risk. Taleb starts by providing a basic definition that will be the focus of the entire book. Some events or objects are anti-fragile. Others are fragile. Something that is fragile is vulnerable to stress. Ex: A porcelain coffee cup. A robust object can withstand shocks. Ex: A steel door. … Read more