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The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

Book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb · 3 quotes · Black Swan, Military, Risk

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The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable Quotes

“So when I presented to what was until then the most hostile crowd in the world, members of the American Statistical Association, a map of the four quadrants, and told them: your knowledge works beautifully in these three quadrants, but beware of the fourth one, as this is where the Black Swans breed, I received instant approval, support, offers of permanent friendship, refreshments (Diet Coke), invitations to come present at their sessions, even hugs.”

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Book:The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
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“I came to discuss Black Swans, and I intended to tell them that the only thing I know is that we know precious little about them, but that it was their property to sneak up on us, and that attempts at Platonifying them led to additional misunderstandings. Military people can understand such things, and the idea became recently prevalent in military circles with the expression unknown unknown (as opposed to the known unknown).”

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Book:The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
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