Why read on Fable?
Publisher Description
The author of the modern classics The Black Swan, Fooled by Randomness, and Antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb expresses major ideas in ways you least expect in this collection of aphorisms and meditations—now expanded with fifty percent more material than the hardcover.
The Bed of Procrustes takes its title from the Greek myth of a man who made his visitors fit his bed to perfection, either by stretching them or by cutting their limbs. It represents Taleb’s view of modern civilization’s hubristic side effects—modifying humans to satisfy technology, blaming reality for not fitting economic models, inventing diseases to sell drugs, defining intelligence as what can be tested in a classroom, and convincing people that employment is not slavery. Playful and irreverent, these aphorisms will surprise you by exposing self-delusions you have been living with but never recognized.
With a rare combination of pointed wit and potent wisdom, Taleb plows through human illusions, contrasting the classical values of courage, elegance, and erudition with the modern diseases of nerdiness, philistinism, and phonies.
The Bed of Procrustes takes its title from the Greek myth of a man who made his visitors fit his bed to perfection, either by stretching them or by cutting their limbs. It represents Taleb’s view of modern civilization’s hubristic side effects—modifying humans to satisfy technology, blaming reality for not fitting economic models, inventing diseases to sell drugs, defining intelligence as what can be tested in a classroom, and convincing people that employment is not slavery. Playful and irreverent, these aphorisms will surprise you by exposing self-delusions you have been living with but never recognized.
With a rare combination of pointed wit and potent wisdom, Taleb plows through human illusions, contrasting the classical values of courage, elegance, and erudition with the modern diseases of nerdiness, philistinism, and phonies.
111 Reviews
3.5
Rohit Sharma
Created about 1 month agoShare
Report
Iker Villanúa Garcia
Created 2 months agoShare
Report
Alan Anto
Created 2 months agoShare
Report
“The Bed of Procrustes is not your traditional nonfiction. Instead, Taleb presents it as a collection of philosophical aphorisms - short, witty statements exploring the contradictions we encounter in the world around us. Taleb reportedly received a $4 million advance to write this book as a follow-up to his book, The Black Swan. These aphorisms offer fresh perspectives on the challenges we face, helping us reframe and better understand them. This was my first read in Taleb's Incerto series.
A few aphorisms I liked are (in no specific order)
"Education makes the wise slightly wiser, but the fool vastly more dangerous."
"Hatred is much harder to fake than love. You hear of fake love; never of fake hate."
"Your reputation is harmed the most by what you say to defend it."
"When we want to do something while unconsciously certain to fail, we seek advice so we can blame someone else for the failure."
"Charm is the ability to insult people without offending them; nerdiness the reverse."
"Your brain is most intelligent when you don’t instruct it on what to do—something people who take showers discover on occasion."
"Life is about execution rather than purpose."
"They will envy you for your success, for your wealth, for your intelligence, for your looks, for your status--but rarely for your wisdom."
"If your anger decreases with time, you did injustice; if it increases, you suffered injustice."
"People focus on role models; it is more effective to find antimodels—people you don’t want to resemble when you grow up."
This was a quick read, and I intend to re-read it again.”
Tom ModicaAmore
Created 3 months agoShare
Report
tiffany parker
Created 3 months agoShare
Report
About Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Nassim Nicholas Taleb has devoted his life to problems of uncertainty, probability, and knowledge. He spent nearly two decades as a businessman and quantitative trader before becoming a full-time philosophical essayist and academic researcher in 2006. Although he spends most of his time in the intense seclusion of his study, or as a flâneur meditating in cafés, he is currently Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at New York University’s Polytechnic Institute. His main subject matter is “decision making under opacity”—that is, a map and a protocol on how we should live in a world we don’t understand.
Taleb’s books have been published in forty-one languages.
Taleb’s books have been published in forty-one languages.
Other books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Similar Books
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List