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The tragedy of virtue is that the more obvious, boring, unoriginal, and sermonizing the proverb, the harder it is to implement.

— Nassim Nicholas Taleb The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

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Source: p. 65
Work: The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms, 2010
Source quality: Precise citation Points to a specific work with a page, chapter, date or similar locator, so you can look it up.

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Topics

Character

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Ethical man accords his profession to his beliefs, instead of according his beliefs to his profession.

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An idea starts to be interesting when you get scared of taking it to its logical conclusion.

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You have a real life if and only if you do not compete with anyone in any of your pursuits.

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The weak shows his strength and hides his weaknesses; the magnificent exhibits his weaknesses like ornaments.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Nassim Nicholas Taleb (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.