I finished this book in June 2021. I recommend this book 4/10.
This is my second book by Nassim Taleb; the first one was Fooled by randomness. I find his books difficult to read. His style has a "cool—no bullshit" approach, but he is all over the place. While the book has some really interesting points throughout the book, I find it difficult to extract real value.
With that said, Nassim Taleb's books are highly regarded, and there is a good possibility that I don't have the intelligence or at least the right mental state to find the value. I recommend that you check out the book for yourself here.
My notes and thoughts:
P19-Silver beats gold: The golden rule wants you to treat others the way you would like them to treat you. The more robust silver rule says do not treat others the way you would not like them to treat you. More robust? How? It tells you to mind your own business and not decide what is "good" for others. We know with more clarity what is bad than what is good.
P60- We don't have to go very far to get the importance of scaling. You know instinctively that people get along better as neighbors than roommates.
P61- I am, at the Fed level, libertarian; at state level, Republican; at the local level, Democrat; and at the family and friends level, a socialist.
P98- Evidence of submission is displayed by the employee's going through years depriving himself of his personal freedom for nine hours every day, his ritualistic and punctual arrival at the office, his denying himself his own schedule, and his not having beaten up anyone on the way back home after a bad day. He is an obedient, housebroken dog.
P114- "Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin." Even today, the question isn't fully settled, nor is the answer clear-cut. You are not responsible for the debts of your parent, but German taxpayers are still responsible for war reparations for crimes committed by their grandparents.
P122- Always do more than you talk. And precede talk with action. For it will always remain that action without talk supersedes talk without action.
P156- Much has been written about the millionaire next door. The person who is actually rich, on balance, but doesn't look like the person you would expect to be rich, and vice versa. About every private banker is taught to not be fooled by the looks of the client and avoid chasing Ferrari owners at country clubs.
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