The Black Swan, a daring new book from the New York Times bestselling author, questions many of our ingrained notions about risk and reward, politics and religion, money and personal responsibility.
One of the most influential philosophers of our day redefines what it means to comprehend the world, excel in one's career, support a just and fair society, see absurdity, and inspire others in his most thought-provoking and useful work to date. Using figures from history such as Seneca, Antaeus the Giant, Donald Trump, and Hammurabi, Nassim Nicholas Taleb demonstrates how taking personal risks is a quality shared by saints, heroes, and successful individuals in all spheres of life.
Taleb questions long-held assumptions about the morality of those who lead military operations, make financial investments, and spread religious ideas. As usual, he is both approachable and iconoclastic. Among his revelations:
Prioritise risk sharing and symmetry in the sake of social fairness. You cannot profit while shifting the risk to others, as big businesses and bankers do. Without taking responsibility for your own risks and losses, it is impossible to become wealthy. More effective at addressing this imbalance than dozens of rules and regulations is forcing skin in the game.
• Ethical rules aren’t universal. Although the group you belong to is bigger than you, it is still smaller than all of mankind.
* The world is ruled by minorities, not by majority. The world is ruled by obstinate minority who force their morals and preferences on others, not by agreement.
* It's possible to be intelligent and yet a fool. "Educated Philistines" have made mistakes on a wide range of topics, including low-carb diets, Iraq, and Stalinism.
* Watch out for difficult fixes (that someone was paid to discover). A simple barbell can build muscle better than expensive new machines.
• True religion is commitment, not just faith. How much you believe in something is manifested only by what you’re willing to risk for it.
The phrase “skin in the game” is one we have often heard but rarely stopped to truly dissect. It is the backbone of risk management, but it’s also an astonishingly rich worldview that, as Taleb shows in this book, applies to all aspects of our lives. As Taleb says, “The symmetry of skin in the game is a simple rule that’s necessary for fairness and justice, and the ultimate BS-buster,” and “Never trust anyone who doesn’t have skin in the game. Without it, fools and crooks will benefit, and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them.”