Nassim Nicholas Taleb Quotes

Things always become obvious after the fact

4568

Wit seduces by signaling intelligence without nerdiness.

3736

A prophet is not someone with special visions, just someone blind to most of what others see

1369

The curious mind embraces science; the gifted and sensitive, the arts; the practical, business; the leftover becomes an economist

1304

Convincing - and confident - disciplines, say, physics, tend to use little statistical backup, while political science and economics, which have never produced anything of note, are full of elaborate statistics and statistical “evidence” (and you know that once you remove the smoke, the evidence is not evidence).

1857

Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market alow you to put there.

2682

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.

2241

In the past, only some of the males, but all of the females, were able to procreate. Equality is more natural for females.

2253

Love without sacrifice is like theft

4162

If the past, by bringing surprises, did not resemble the past previous to it (what I call the past's past), then why should our future resemble our current past?

1955

Just as no monkey is as good-looking as the ugliest of humans, no academic is worthier than the worst of the creators

4031

What I learned on my own I still remember

1956