The Bed of Procrustes

Always enjoyed reading works of Nassim Nicholas Taleb and this one is no exception. The way he puts aprohisms to work is something that you rarely find today. There are many noteworthy gems ane life changing statements one can use to understand and change her/his thoughts life and world around them.

I am being a fan of Nassim Nicholas Taleb,so my reviews might be biased. Anyway,magnificent collection of aphorism. Taken from his other well renowned books and keep it in single place.

Taleb hits the nail straight on its head, only that nail is placed firmly our ego. These aphorisms will make one rethink the concept of irrationality, randomness, rationalism, and self.

A book of wonderful and witty aphorisms delivered with classic Talebian disdain for the modern Beds of Procrusteus that our societies have been imposing, I.e academia, gyms, corporations, regulatory bodies, which in the name of "standardization" have often chopped off the necessy and elaborated on the useless just to ensure that things "fit in". Taleb's empiricist stand stands out in the face of modernity's obsession with enlightenment.

Given the reputation of N N Taleb, I was willing to shell out money for a book of aphorisms. Some of the aphorisms rang true. Some were profound and some were not. Some were downright dumb. But the value of aphorisms is to be gathered from what one makes of them. Apart from the Greek myth of the Procrustean bed (what attracted me to the book in first place) dealt with in the two pages of the preface, only a few aphorisms gave me pause and made me think. Most of them seemed run-of-mill repetitions. For a $ 4 million advance to Taleb on the book and the love other readers have for this particular work, perhaps this book is targeted towards those who have read his earlier work and are cued in to certain phenomenon. I gave it 3 stars instead of 2.5, because while I did not find many Taleb's aphorisms pertinent or up-to-the-mark does not mean that they wrong or right. So I would like to rate it so-so (and not bad), leaving other readers to make up their own minds. The Book: The book has a decent quality cover paper with matte finish. The illuminated letters effect on the front actually comes across as blurred and pirated. It seems intentional on part of Penguin though I don't know why. The inside pages are cream-hued with legible printing and a decent font size. The book bought for INR 236 at amazon.in (MRP 399) has inner pages that positively resemble a mass paperback of low to medium paper quality.

Aphorisms show deeper understanding of life. This books exceeds all expectations. This are not without exceptions but are representing predominant truths. Individually deferential views are of course possible but it is an undeniable truth that these insights are extremely valuable. Lot to learn - new visions - new perspectives! The book has made an indelible and deep impact on my psyche.

This book makes u laugh and think. Gives you totally different perspective than what u generally get from other sources. But don't get carried away otherwise you may end being someone who he is making fun here.

It's always fun to read Mr. Taleb's thoughts. One of my favorite books. Aphorisms are bone-deep and it is recommended that they be read slowly; reflecting upon them needs some time for them to be truly enriching.

Very useful to flip to a random page and reflect on the few aphorisms there are there. I had to reconsider a lot of my life choices because of this.

Nettes Zitate Buch zum hin und wieder mal rein schauen

This is a book of statements and many of them, for me, ring true. A number caused me to pause and seriously reflect on their meaning and some I have taken to heart as words of wisdom that should be incorporated into my own way of life. This was the final book of the Incerto serious for me and I can honestly say I want to read them all again and reflect more. A great final book and great overall collection of knowledge and understanding..

Nassim Taleb's book of aphorisms is full of distilled wisdom that will linger in your mind throughout the day, and give you a new way of looking at things that may never have occurred to you. Most are easy to comprehend on the first reading. Some of them might not make sense to you. If so, leave them be, and come back to them another time. Taleb is a contrarian thinker (and a practitioner of what he preaches), and that might unsettle some people, but his ideas ring true. Although this book is short, it is not meant to be digested in one sitting. It's best to think about what he says, and how they apply to life, society, circumstances, and what you might have taken for granted as being conventional wisdom that is flat out wrong. Given the nature of aphorisms, there is no discussion. They just "are". That by no measure doesn't mean that they can't be discussed or debated.. Discuss them with friends, family. Argue about them. Some aphorisms are meant to upset the status quo. Some may feel angered reading something that is the antithesis of their deeply held beliefs. I find its best to be honest with myself, heed the wisdom, apply it to what I know, and admit that I was mistaken to formally strongly held beliefs if it is warranted (I do this with all new information, so this applies to anything I might learn). I don't agree with everything Taleb says, but I do agree with most of it, some to more or lesser extent. (I've read all his books recently, one after the other). To the naysayers - 1) Taleb isn't bitter towards people, he just has no patience for people he sees as fraudsters; people with no skin in the game. Academics, economists, financial gurus, journalists, politicians etc. who reverse engineer data to fit their hypothesis and then seek to tell everyone else what to do and how to think. And these people can cause immeasurable harm to the public without any corresponding harm to themselves, and often times will gain from the damage they cause. 2) Some mistake him as being pompous. He just has strong feelings towards frauds, and isn't afraid to express them. He likes people who are real, such as chatty taxi drivers who in his view may have more wisdom than career academics or those who hold them out as being super geniuses who like to dazzle with their precieved brillience.

Taleb is full of Wisdom - A+ Book.