782 Quotes by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The best philosophers were not academics, but had another job, so their philosophy was not corrupted by careerism.

Categorizing is necessary for humans, but it becomes pathological when the category is seen as definitive, preventing people from considering the fuzziness of boundaries, let alone revising their categories.

People employed in financial institutions are rarely interesting and even more rarely likable.

But it remains the case that you know what is wrong with a lot more confidence than you know what is right.

The American people will eventually get hurt by this accumulated deficit. That's the problem. We have too much deficit. We have to find a solution.

The difference between slaves in Roman and Ottoman days and today's employees is that slaves did not need to flatter their boss.

The track record of economists in predicting events is monstrously bad. It is beyond simplification; it is like medieval medicine.

By all means, avoid words—threats, complaints, justification, narratives, reframing, attempts to win arguments, supplications; avoid words!

Only in recent history has "working hard" signaled pride rather than shame for lack of talent, finesse and, mostly, sprezzatura .