782 Quotes by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

A good rule of thumb is as follows: If the numbers come from somebody wearing a tie (Wall Street economist or analyst, industry public relations department, captive think tank academic and so on), you ought to be very skeptical. By design messages from these people are intended to move markets, move merchandise and/or move public policy and are not a comment on the state of the physical universe.

If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud.

When we want to do something while unconsciously certain to fail, we seek advice so we can blame someone else for the failure.

Inequalities of wealth lead to a dispersion in wealth for all.

The fragile wants tranquility, the antifragile grows from disorder, and the robust doesn't care too much.

It might be useful to be able to predict war. But tension does not necessarily lead to war, but often to peace and to denouement.

Success is becoming in middle adulthood what you dreamed to be in late childhood.

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

Answer e-mails from junior people before more senior ones. Junior people have further to go and tend to remember who slighted them.