Those semi-intellectuals considered "intellectuals" get furious when shown the same disrespect as they have towards nonintellectuals. - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

At no point in history have so many non-risk-takers, that is, those with no personal exposure, exerted so much control.

While in the past people of rank or status were those and only those who took risks, who had the downside for their actions, and heroes were those who did so for the sake of others, today the exact reverse is taking place. We are witnessing the rise of a new class of inverse heroes, that is, bureaucrats, bankers, Davos-attending members of the I.A.N.D. (International Association of Name Droppers), and academics with too much power and no real downside and/or accountability. They game the system while citizens pay the price.

One single observation can invalidate a general statement derived from millennia of confirmatory sightings of millions of white swans. All you need is one single (and, I am told, quite ugly) black bird.*