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Nassim Nicholas Taleb Quotes

born 1960 Lebanon

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1 January, 1960 in Amioun, Lebanon) is an essayist, epistemologist, researcher, and former practitioner of mathematical finance.

Lebanon
Academics
Essayists
Non-fiction authors
Philosophers

Also known as: Nassim N. Taleb, Nassim Taleb, Taleb, Taleb, Nassim Nicholas, NNT

Random Nassim Nicholas Taleb quote

179 quotes

The book is the only medium left that hasn’t been corrupted by the profane.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

We should reward people, not ridicule them, for thinking the impossible.

The difference between slaves in Roman and Ottoman days and today’s employees is that slaves did not need to flatter their boss.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

Only in recent history has “working hard” signaled pride rather than shame for lack of talent, finesse and, mostly, sprezzatura.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

Modernity widened the distance between the sensational and the relevant.

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (2012)

It is painful to think about ruthlessness as an engine of improvement.

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (2012)

Greatness starts with the replacement of hatred with polite disdain.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

The best test of whether someone is extremely stupid (or extremely wise) is whether financial and political news makes sense to him.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

Researchers of the brain believe that mathematical truths make little sense to our mind, particularly..the examination of random outcomes.

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets (2001)

Modernity needs to understand that being rich and becoming rich are not mathematically, personally, socially, and ethically the same thing.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

Randomness works well in search—sometimes better than humans.

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (2012)

What they call “play” (gym, travel, sports) looks like work.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

Daily news and sugar confuse our system in the same manner.

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (2012)

Wit seduces by signaling intelligence without nerdiness.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

Don't cross a river if it is four feet deep on average.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2007)

If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud.

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (2012)

To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

We are robust when errors in the representation of the unknown and understanding of random effects do not lead to adverse outcomes —fragile otherwise.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

This makes living in big cities invaluable because you increase the odds of serendipitous encounters — you gain exposure to the envelope of serendipity.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2007)

Injecting some confusion stabilizes the system.

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (2012)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Nassim Nicholas Taleb (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.