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Big Ideas Reading Group

  • Kepler's Books 1010 El Camino Real Menlo Park, CA, 94025 United States (map)

We are so sorry - this event has been cancelled.

CDC health officials are recommending that all gatherings be cancelled due to COVID-19 through May 9th. The wellbeing of our community is our top priority so we are following that recommendation.

Skin in the Game- Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb  .png

Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

In his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others. Citing examples ranging from Hammurabi to Seneca, Antaeus the Giant to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to accept one's own risks is an essential attribute of heroes, saints, and flourishing people in all walks of life.

The phrase "skin in the game" is one we have often heard but rarely stopped to truly dissect. It is the backbone of risk management, but it's also an astonishingly rich worldview that, as Taleb shows in this book, applies to all aspects of our lives. As Taleb says, "The symmetry of skin in the game is a simple rule that's necessary for fairness and justice, and the ultimate BS-buster," and "Never trust anyone who doesn't have skin in the game. Without it, fools and crooks will benefit, and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them."