Tag Archives: Karl Popper

Non-Sissy Uncertainty: Why I Inflict Nassim “Black Swan” Taleb on My Students | Cross-Check, Scientific American Blog Network

More follow-up from NNT’s recent Stevens Institute talk.
HatTip to Dave Lull.

Here’s a quote from the prologue of Antifragility, which should give you a sense of Taleb’s substance and style: “This book is about how to domesticate, even dominate, even conquer, the impenetrable, the unseen, the non-understood, the opaque, the perplexing, and the inexplicable. Wind extinguishes a candle and energizes fire. Likewise with randomness: you want to use it, not hide from it. You want to be the fire and wish for the wind. This summarizes my non-sissy attitude toward randomness and uncertainty.” Non-sissy uncertainty? That’s a message I’ll enjoy imparting to my students.

via Non-Sissy Uncertainty: Why I Inflict Nassim “Black Swan” Taleb on My Students | Cross-Check, Scientific American Blog Network.

George Soros: Open Society, the Financial Crisis, and the Way Ahead

Did you know that Soros studied with Popper? I’m half way through this 5 part series where George Soros discusses his philosophy and it’s applications. Here’s the introduction:

You can find the entire video series at the Financial Times site. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/668e074a-bf24-11de-a696-00144feab49a.html?_i_referralObject=11135588&fromSearch=n
You can also subscribe to the Open Society Institute podcast in iTunes. (Link will open iTunes)
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=281052077