Nassim Taleb on Decision Making Quotes

"If you have a 'why' to live, you can endure any 'how'."

"You can afford to be wrong if you have optionality."

"I want to live happily in a world I don't understand."

"Intellectuals are often the last to know."

"We are much better at doing than at understanding."

"Sunk costs are like an anchor; cut the rope."

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

"What is fragile should break early while it's still small."

"Sunk costs are for those who don't understand optionality."

"The central illusion in life is that randomness is a risky thing, that it is a bad thing, and that eliminating it would be a good thing."

"Skin in the game keeps human hubris in check."

"If you take risks and face your fate with dignity, there is nothing you can do that makes you small; if you don't take risks, there is nothing you can do that makes you grand."

"The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the successful believe that their success is due to their qualities."

"The best way to help the poor is to create wealth, not redistribute it."

"Modernity is the replacement of expectations of excellence with expectations of efficiency."

"The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary."

"Knowledge is reached by any other means than a textbook."

"The suckers think you cure a flaw with a fix. The professional knows you cure a flaw by making the system more robust."

"Avoidance of small mistakes makes the large mistake more severe."

"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."

"Those who do not take risks should never be involved in making decisions."

"Difficulty is what wakes up the genius."

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."

"Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better."

"It is much easier to sell ‘Look how I cured you’ than ‘Look how I helped you avoid getting sick.’"

"The problem with experts is that they do not know what they do not know."

"You will never fully know someone until you confront them with a choice that involves a loss to them."

"To be a philosopher is to know through via negativa."

"Wind extinguishes a candle and energizes fire. You want to be the fire and wish for the wind."

"Don't tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio."

"Never listen to a left-brain person for advice on anything that involves uncertainty."

"Rationality is not what has 'reason' behind it, but what helps you survive and avoid ruin."

"Probability is not about the odds, but about the belief in the existence of an alternative outcome."