The principal value of higher education is learning from academics to become what they are not, to use them as moral, intellectual, and practical inverse role models. Seen that way, it can be worth the price.
(Via Negativa)
via The principal value of higher education… – Nassim Nicholas Taleb | Facebook.
What would you rather be, poor in a country that has a large middle class, or poor in a country that has massive inequalities, with many people like you, a very small number of mega-opulent, and no middle class?Think about it in terms of people you are likely to encounter, and compete with. The super-rich are far away, out of reach, in a class of their own, rarely visible outside the media; the middle class is there to taunt you, humiliate you, make you feel envy.The middle class is cruel to the lumpen; it is only a great concept if you belong to it.
via What would you rather be, poor in a… – Nassim Nicholas Taleb | Facebook.
When someone starts a sentence with the first half containing “I” , “not”, and “but”, the “not” should be removed and the “but” replaced with “therefore”.
Examples:
“I am not prejudiced, but”
“I will not honor you with a reply, but”
“I do not usually […], but”
—
The most infuriating is a letter that starts with:
“I do not always agree with what you say, but”
via When someone starts a sentence with the… – Nassim Nicholas Taleb | Facebook.
High Modernity: routine in place of physical effort, physical effort in place of mental expenditure, & mental expenditure in place of mental clarity.
via High Modernity: routine in place of… – Nassim Nicholas Taleb | Facebook.
My nightmare: This [EDITED] got the Black Swan idea in reverse (WSJ):
http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2013/05/17/spotting-black-swans-with-data-science/
(reposted after editing my first reaction… more polite but not really)
Spotting Black Swans with Data Science
blogs.wsj.com
Traditional analytic models can’t keep up with today’s unprecedented volume and variety of data. The emerging field of data science, closely intertwined with the explosion of Big Data, aims for a better understanding of dynamic, complex systems through in-depth analysis across multiple data sets, an…
via My nightmare: This [EDITED] got the… – Nassim Nicholas Taleb | Facebook.