Monthly Archives: August 2011

Debt, Deficits, And The Demise Of The American Economy: An Interview With Peter Tanous

John Nyaradi: In your book, you discuss risk management; you talk about “fat tails” and people like Friedrich Gauss and Augustin Cauchy. What do “fat tails” mean to us in this new world?

Peter Tanous: Jeff and I have done a lot of interviews since the book came out and almost nobody ever asks us about this so I’m glad you did because it’s really important. We have a chapter about the history of risk and how our understanding of risk in investing has changed over the centuries. I have to acknowledge a friend who has inspired me greatly and who endorsed this book very heartily and that is Nassim Taleb. Nassim Taleb wrote, “The Black Swan,” a book that has sold over three million copies and totally revolutionized our understanding of risk.