E-Book Overview
“Skin in the Game” is a continuation of the Incerto collection and follows Nassim Taleb's innovative search for asymmetry in human decision-making. This book is an applied synopsis of the book which has attempted to provide a fascinating, unique version of the book for readers unfamiliar with Nassim Taleb's writing style by simplifying the technical and blunt sections.
E-Book Content
Copyright © 2018 by Nassim Nicholas Taleb All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. RANDOM HOUSE and the HOUSE colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Portions of this work were originally published in different form on Medium. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA NAMES: Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. TITLE: Skin in the game : hidden asymmetries in daily life / Nassim Nicholas Taleb. DESCRIPTION: First edition. | New York : Random House, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index IDENTIFIERS: LCCN 2017047111 | ISBN 9780425284629 | ISBN 9780425284636 (ebook) SUBJECTS: LCSH: Risk—Sociological aspects. | Risk-taking (Psychology)— Social aspects. | Information asymmetry—Social aspects. | Uncertainty (Information theory)—Social aspects. | Complexity (Philosophy) CLASSIFICATION: LCC HM1101 .T35 2018 | DDC 302/.12—dc23 LC record available at lccn.loc.gov/2017047111 International edition ISBN 978-0-525-51107-6 Ebook ISBN 9780425284636 randomhousebooks.com Cover design: Eric White v5.2 ep
Contents Cover Title Page Copyright
Book 1: Introduction Prologue, Part 1: Antaeus Whacked Prologue, Part 2: A Brief Tour of Symmetry Prologue, Part 3: The Ribs of the Incerto Appendix: Asymmetries in Life and Things
Book 2: A First Look at Agency Chapter 1: Why Each One Should Eat His Own Turtles: Equality in Uncertainty
Book 3: That Greatest Asymmetry Chapter 2: The Most Intolerant Wins: The Dominance of the Stubborn Minority Appendix to Book 3: A Few More Counterintuitive Things About the Collective
Book 4: Wolves Among Dogs Chapter 3: How to Legally Own Another Person Chapter 4: The Skin of Others in Your Game
Book 5: Being Alive Means Taking Certain Risks Chapter 5: Life in the Simulation Machine Chapter 6: The Intellectual Yet Idiot Chapter 7: Inequality and Skin in the Game Chapter 8: An Expert Called Lindy
Book 6: Deeper into Agency Chapter 9: Surgeons Should Not Look Like Surgeons Chapter 10: Only the Rich Are Poisoned: The Preferences of Others Chapter 11: Facta Non Verba (Deeds Before Words) Chapter 12: The Facts Are True, the News Is Fake Chapter 13: The Merchandising of Virtue Chapter 14: Peace, Neither Ink nor Blood
Book 7: Religion, Belief, and Skin in the Game Chapter 15: They Don’t Know What They Are Talking About When They Talk About Religion Chapter 16: No Worship Without Skin in the Game Chapter 17: Is the Pope Atheist?
Book 8: Risk and Rationality Chapter 18: How to Be Rational About Rationality Chapter 19: The Logic of Risk Taking Epilogue Dedication Acknowledgments Glossary Technical Appendix Notes Bibliography By Nassim Nicholas Taleb About the Author
This book, while standalone, is a continuation of the Incerto collection, which is a combination of a) practical discussions, b) philosophical tales, and c) scientific and analytical commentary on the problems of randomness, and how to live, eat, sleep, argue, fight, befriend, work, have fun, and make decisions under uncertainty. While accessible to a broad group of readers, don’t be fooled: the Incerto is an essay, not a popularization of works done elsewhere in boring form (leaving aside the Incerto’s technical companion). Skin in the Game is about four topics in one: a) uncertainty and the reliability of knowledge (both practical and scientific, assuming there is a difference), or i