This is the central illusion in life: that randomness is a risk, that it is a bad thing ... - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

" "
Engraved portrait of Nassim Nicholas Taleb, facing right

This is the central illusion in life: that randomness is a risk, that it is a bad thing ...

English
Collect this quote

About Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1 January 1960 in Amioun, Lebanon) is an essayist, epistemologist, researcher, and former practitioner of mathematical finance.

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, Sarah Josephine Taleb (CC BY)

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Nassim Taleb

Share this quote as an image

Customize card

Go Premium

Support Quotewise while enjoying an ad-free experience and premium features.

View Plans

Related quotes. More quotes will automatically load as you scroll down, or you can use the load more buttons.

Additional quotes by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

If one puts an infinite number of monkeys in front of (strongly built) typewriters, and lets them clap away, there is a certainty that one of them will come out with an exact version of the 'Iliad'. Upon examination, this may be less interesting a concept than it appears at first: Such probability is ridiculously low. But let us carry the reasoning one step beyond. Now that we have found that hero among monkeys, would any reader invest his life's savings on a bet that the monkey would write the 'Odyssey' next?

I do not dispute that arguments should be simplified to their maximum... but people often confuse complex ideas that cannot be simplified into a media-friendly statement as symptomatic of a confused mind. ...MBAs tend to blow up in financial markets, as they are trained to simplify... beyond... requirement. (...I am myself the unhappy holder of the degree.)

Works in ChatGPT, Claude, or Any AI

Add semantic quote search to your AI assistant via MCP. One command setup.

Loading...