Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The difference between a philosopher and a fool is that the philosopher knows he is a fool.

The more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know.

Never trust a man who wears a tie to a casual event.

The greatest danger in life is not taking risks. It's taking risks without understanding them.

The problem with smart people is that they think they can outsmart randomness.

The more you try to control things, the more they control you.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.

The best way to predict the future is to create it.

The function of the university is to make the student fall in love with the library.

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

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

You will never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.

The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free.

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

People focus on role models; it is more effective to find antimodels—people you don't want to resemble when you grow up.

The most annoying trait in people is when they mistake their intellectual deficits for moral superiority.

You exist if and only if you are free to do things without a visible economic gain.

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

The most reliable way to tell if someone is stupid is if they're an academic who's successful in their field.

If you hear a 'prominent' economist using the word 'equilibrium', or 'normal distribution', do not argue with him; just ignore him.