Saturday, December 31, 2011
You cannot be truly free with your opinion if you have a specialty. via You cannot be truly… | Facebook.
Friday, December 30, 2011
You cannot be truly free if you have a specialty. via You cannot be truly… | Facebook.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
My best gift in years I got from Belles Lettres- a BIG event: Erasmus’ lecture notes & collection of aphorisms/proverbs from classical litterature. The distillation of knowledge and wisdom by one of the three most learned men in history. Dwarfs much of the bookstore shelves… http://www.lesbelleslettres.com/livre/?GCOI=22510100184530 Les Adages www.lesbelleslettres.com Les Adages. Une première mondiale, l’édition [...]
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Friendship is fragile; kinship is robust; attraction is antifragile via Friendship is… | Facebook.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Friends, there is a Levantine expression Mi7in محن diacritical sukun or weak kasra over the 7 ح not to be confused with the Arabic Mi7an محن with a diacritical kasra under the mim and fat7a over the 7. I know no equivalent in English or French. It seems to include “affected”, “with attitude”, “folly with [...]
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
One has to chose [between] being writing books and being a writer, between doing and being (or impersonating) –in anything. Once you figure out your preference, everything becomes so easy. via One has to chose… | Facebook.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
In the end I added this to the ‘haters’ category. Especially after I read this post. He seems to be writing anonymously. Anyone know who it is? According to philosopher Taleb we can have heuristics, but not optimization. Optimization leads to airport delays. It also leads to cheaper tickets and in this exciting two part [...]
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Modernism starts with the state’s monopoly on violence, and ends with the state’s monopoly on fiscal irresponsibility. via Modernism starts… | Facebook.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
You can focus on your actions or on your reputation, not both. via You can focus on… | Facebook.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
CORRECTED EARLIER POST (happy to be human) – Incidentally, for those who think that academia is “quieter” and a emotionally soothing transition after the volatile risk-taking business life, a surprise: when in action, new problems and scares emerge every day to displace and eliminate the previous day’s headaches, resentments, and conflicts. A nail displaces another [...]
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
In place of “cautious optimism”, I prefer maximally optimistic flight attendants, and maximally pessimistic pilots.[Barbell] via In place of… | Facebook.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Things are not harmful because they are fragile, they are harmful because people don’t know that they are fragile. via Things are not… | Facebook.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Added to Prologue:Incidentally, for those who think that academia is “quieter” and a soothing transition after the volatile risk-taking business life, a surprise: when in action, new problems and scares emerge every day to displace and eliminate the previous day’s headaches, resentments, and conflicts. A nail displaces another nail. But academics seem to hate each [...]
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Every new year I face the realization that the hardest problem in life is knowing exactly what to wish for, owing to side effects; execution no matter how hard, is much more tractable.Merry Christmas everyone. via Every new year I… | Facebook.
Friday, December 23, 2011
(comment: stuff I write with my emotions, like Fooled by Randomness, or the stories in The Black Swan, I don’t even bother editing; stuff I write with my brain I need to re-write). via (comment: stuff I… | Facebook.
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Prologue www.fooledbyrandomness.com/prologue.pdf via The Prologue… | Facebook.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Nothing more fragile than power without courage. via Nothing more… | Facebook.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
The second column (skin in the game) includes citizens, merchants, businessmen, artisans, entrepreneurs, lab and field experimenters, city-state government, writers, speculators, crusading journalists, activists, traders and his character “Fat Tony” who is always practical. He says, “Do not fly in a plane without the pilot aboard.” (Predator drones risk no lives — just a lot [...]
Saturday, December 17, 2011
You want your enemies to be maximally predictable to you; you want to be maximally unpredictable to to your enemies. via You want your… | Facebook.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
2400 years ago, we were ahead. Way ahead. www.fooledbyrandomness.com/protagoras.pdf via Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Friday, December 16, 2011
First Central Heuristic: I never take or give unsolicited advice.First in 99 heuristics via First Central….
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
“Natural” is a label invented to designate products that are certifiably not natural.In a Swiss grocery store via “Natural” is a… | Facebook.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Added a section to the text with the Alan Blinder problem. http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/ethics.pdf via Added a section to… | Facebook.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Get it while it’s hot! NNT often kills pdf links after a few days. A little tough: My chapter naming names. http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/ethics.pdf www.fooledbyrandomness.com via A little tough: My… | Facebook.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Just because the phrase ‘stand-up economist’ is a new one. Also, let’s not forget the stand-up economist coming to Chicago next month. “A monstrosity that turns scientists and thinkers into low-level entertainers” — that’s how statistician Nassim Taleb described the worldwide “TEDTalks” in his recent book, “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable” [...]
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