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Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Nassim Nicholas Taleb Quotes

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Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a renowned author, scholar, and thinker whose unique perspective and profound insights have had a wide-reaching impact in fields such as finance, statistics, and philosophy. He is best known for his books 'The Black Swan' and 'Fooled by Randomness', which have explored the nature of uncertainty, risk, and probability theory.

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Famous Nassim Nicholas Taleb Quotes

“Don't ask the barber whether you need a haircut, and don't ask an academic if what he does is relevant.”

Ifs Needs Doe Asks Knowledge Ignorance Limits Relevant Academic Haircuts Barbers

Author:Nassim Nicholas Taleb

“Never take advice from anyone in a tie. They'll bankrupt you. Don't ask a general for advice on war, and don't ask a broker for advice on money.”

War Asks Advice Ties Brokers

Author:Nassim Nicholas Taleb

“When you ask people, 'What's the opposite of fragile?,' they tend to say robust, resilient, adaptable, solid, strong. That's not it. The opposite of fragile is something that gains from disorder.”

People Asks Strong Gains Opposites Disorder Fragile Resilient Robust Adaptable

Author:Nassim Nicholas Taleb

“If I ask you to write down the last 4 digits of your social security number, and then take you out to lunch and ask you how many dentists there are in Manhattan, there's going to be a high correlation between those two numbers. What happens is that the number psychologically makes you feel confident.”

Ifs Feels Writing Two Happens Lasts Asks Social Numbers Security Lunch Social Security Manhattan Dentist Correlation

Author:Nassim Nicholas Taleb

“My best definition of a nerd: someone who asks you to explain an aphorism”

Asks Definitions Aphorism Nerd

Book:The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms

Source: The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms

“The psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer has a simple heuristic. Never ask the doctor what you should do. Ask him what he would do if he were in your place. You would be surprised at the difference”

Ifs Should Would Be Asks Differences Simple Doctors Psychologist Heuristics

Book:Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Source: Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

“Never ask anyone for their opinion, forecast, or recommendation. Just ask them what they have—or don’t have—in their portfolio.”

Asks Opinion Recommendations Portfolios Forecasts

Book:Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Source: Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

“Never ask a trader if he is profitable: you can easily see it in his gesture and gait.”

Ifs Asks Business Finance Gestures Profitable Traders Gait

Book:Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets

Source: Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets