Nassim Taleb: the bigger something gets, the more fragile it becomes.
Jump off a 1-meter ledge ten times - you're fine. Jump 10 meters once - you're dead.
Size works the same way. One giant bank dumping €50B moved the market 12% and lost billions. Ten small banks dumping €5B each would've lost almost nothing.
"An elephant breaks a leg when it falls. A mouse doesn't."
"The best predictor of a company's bankruptcy is steady earnings."
"Don't cross a river that's on average four feet deep."
~40 min, free. why small, jagged and distributed outlives big, smooth and centralized ↓
Nassim Taleb: 0.3% of Americans keep kosher. Nearly 100% of drinks in America are kosher anyway.
that's the minority rule - a small, intransigent group decides what everyone gets, because the rest don't mind either way. it quietly runs markets, ethics and elections.
"If you're bust on day 28, there is no day 29."
"Being paranoid isn't irrational. If we weren't paranoid, we wouldn't be here."
"Whatever your grandmother tells you is Lindy - it survived the test of time. Most of what psychologists 'discover' won't."
bookmark and watch it today - part 2 on minority rule, black swans, and surviving randomness ↓
Nassim Taleb: pick two people at random
If their combined height is 4.1m, it's basically 2.05 + 2.05.
If their combined wealth is $36M, it's almost never 18 + 18 - it's ~$1,000 and ~$36M.
Height lives in "Mediocristan," where the average tells you everything.
Wealth - and markets - live in "Extremistan," where one event dominates the whole picture.
Ruin there never comes from a string of bad days.
It comes from a single one.
~1hr lecture, free. The Black Swan author at Cambridge on why the statistics you were taught break exactly where it matters.
Being right on average means nothing if one tail empties the account.
For the Stoics, freedom is internalized, so external dependence or slavery is irrelevant. It is all a question of your own self-assessment. As a Stoic you act out your social role.
But for the Cynics, freedom must be overt, active and real. You have to be outside the social structure. Even if it means throwing yourself into poverty and being a wanderer.
Everything You Know is About to Collapse - David Friedberg https://t.co/VIYsTjHuc4 via @YouTube
This conversation just made me so happy omg.
@friedberg will the boomers destroy the world before this bright future can blossom?
I'm afraid Trump will end up like Napoleon. A man who inherited a mighty and rich empire, and left the country weaker, more bankrupt and damaged then when he initially took it over.
but still retains a cult following in his death by a certain amount of supporters.
This episode was great. I’ve admired Chamath for years. The way he talks about for years about playing the games that actually matter — wealth, family, health — rather than status or other empty games has always stuck with me.
Separately, one of the reasons I liked All-In was that it felt like four people with real skin in the game giving their honest, independent opinions.
But lately, when it comes to the Trump administration, it feels like that independence has disappeared. Especially chamath. I can’t remember the last time I heard real criticism.
The value prop of the show was wealthy people saying what they actually think. It doesn’t feel like that right now.
@chamath thoughts?
"Children are happy because:
1) They're not self conscious
2) They lack a sense of time pressure
3) They've no goals.
The bottom line is they are living from moment to moment, and the mind is not there to interfere in their bliss."
@naval
My 3.5-hour conversation with @naval.
Fresh takes on every idea from The Almanack of Naval: happiness, judgment, knowledge, leverage.
Now in one episode, available on Spotify, Youtube, etc.
🚨Just wrapped up a full mobile product.
From strategy to flows to production-ready design. It’s now approved by the App Store and launching in the coming days 🚀
This is what execution looks like behind the scenes. Not one screen. Not a mockup. A complete system. 🔥
I’m opening a few slots for founders and teams building serious digital products.
If you need a mobile app, website, or product that’s structured, scalable, and built to convert.
Send a DM or use the link below to reach out.