Nassim Nicholas Taleb Quotes Page 2

“To bankrupt a fool, give him information.”

“What I learned on my own I still remember.”

“When people give you two reasons, consider the first one to be bogus.”

“When you beat up someone physically, you get exercise and stress relief; when you assault him verbally on the Internet, you just harm yourself.”

“Wit seduces by signaling intelligence without nerdiness.”

“It has been more profitable for us to bind together in the wrong direction than to be alone in the right one. Those who have followed the assertive idiot rather than the introspective wise person have passed us some of their genes. This is apparent from a social pathology: psychopaths rally followers.”

“Missing a train is only painful if you run after it! Likewise, not matching the idea of success others expect from you is only painful if that’s what you are seeking.”

“The problem with experts is that they do not know what they do not know.”

“When you develop your opinions on the basis of weak evidence, you will have difficulty interpreting subsequent information that contradicts these opinions, even if this new information is obviously more accurate.”

“Elon Musk illustrates my 'Fooled by Randomness' point: solid financial success is largely the result of skills, hard work, and wisdom. But wild success (in the far tail) is more likely to be the result of reckless betting, extreme luck, & the opposite of wisdom: folly.”

“Everything before the 'but' is meant to be ignored by the speaker; and everything after the 'but' should be ignored by the listener.”

“If someone needs to convince you (or, worse, bully you, or, worse, threaten you) that it is a good investment/tool/product, it is not a good investment/tool/product.”

“It's remarkable how all those who believe in large a scale medical and pharma conspiracy unremittingly seek treatment the minute they get cancer, a stroke, a heart attack, are hit by a truck, or contract venereal disease.”

“Miami in one word: Dionysian.”

“No currency is to devalue until the central banker announces that there will be no devaluation.”

“No rumour is true until officially denied.”

“So looks like
1- Bitcoin is no hedge for adversity
2- Bitcoin is no hedge for inflation
3- Bitcoin is no hedge for deflation
4- Bitcoin is no currency
5- Bitcoin is nothing”

“The world is split between those who don't know how to start making money and those who don't know when to stop.”

“Two idiots are collectively more stupid than a single idiot.”

“Watching a villain go bankrupt in slow motion is more enjoyable than witnessing his defenestration.”

“Weak nations require strong leaders; strong nations require weak leaders, or, better, no leader.”