Skin in the Game
Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
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Skin in the Game
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Narrated by:
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Joe Ochman
About this listen
Number-one New York Times best seller
A bold work from the author of The Black Swan that challenges many of our long-held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance and personal responsibility.
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.
As always both accessible and iconoclastic, Taleb challenges long-held beliefs about the values of those who spearhead military interventions, make financial investments, and propagate religious faiths. Among his insights:
- For social justice, focus on symmetry and risk sharing. You cannot make profits and transfer the risks to others, as bankers and large corporations do. You cannot get rich without owning your own risk and paying for your own losses. Forcing skin in the game corrects this asymmetry better than thousands of laws and regulations.
- Ethical rules aren't universal. You're part of a group larger than you, but it's still smaller than humanity in general.
- Minorities, not majorities, run the world. The world is not run by consensus but by stubborn minorities asymmetrically imposing their tastes and ethics on others.
- You can be an intellectual yet still be an idiot. "Educated philistines" have been wrong on everything from Stalinism to Iraq to low carb diets.
- Beware of complicated solutions (that someone was paid to find). A simple barbell can build muscle better than expensive new machines.
- True religion is commitment, not just faith. How much you believe in something is manifested only by what you’re willing to risk for it.
The phrase "skin in the game" is one we have often heard but have 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."
©2018 Nassim Nicholas Taleb (P)2018 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Skin in the Game
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 27-05-18
Diminishing returns
Skin in the Game is an enjoyable collection of anecdotes, observations and angry diatribes. It is also much inferior to the previous three volumes in the "Incerto" series. Taleb is still scratching the same itch and seeking after the same high. But he has run out of things to say.
His message remains important, but please go read Antifragile, Black Swan or Fooled by Randomness instead. They will give you everything you need. This aimless volume, which merely introduces a few new terms to explore again many of his familiar topics, can only be recommended to devoted Taleb fans.
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16 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tim
- 05-03-18
Another great work by Teleb
If you've read anything else by Teleb, you won't be disappointed with Skin in the Game. Another thoughtful rant covering many fields and subjects. If you haven't read anything by him before... I would suggest reading fooled by randomness first, but that's just personal preference, his books can be read in any order. I can't recommend them highly enough. They prove what the majority of people believe about risk, probability and indeed life, is wrong.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Anthony Coleman
- 27-05-23
I listened to twice, to make sure I understood it
Taleb's "Skin in the Game" is a book I listened to twice to make sure I understood it. A lot of what's in the book made sense if I had to ignore some strong opinions. A book that talks about science is full of opinions. But I liked it. But it's not as strong as Taleb's previous books. That said, Taleb, even on half-power, leaves most other authors in the dust.
Key lessons:
Aim for errors that don't cost too much - innovation and invention happens by accident
Observe what people do, not what they say
Never discount anything that allows you to survive or avoid ruin; anything that hinders that is irrational. Consider the survival of populations with dominant beliefs.
Beware of scientism vs. science
Beliefs map to action, risk-taking, and having something at stake, "skin in the game"
Consider how much you bleed vs. how much you're willing to risk for it
Beware of asymmetry.
Bet when in profit and not when in distress.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Richard Denton
- 14-05-18
excellent
a necessary education for so many in modern times. Taleb shows the sharp trader's wit and a tonne of insight. get it read!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 12-09-19
heading required when it says optional
a bit short but great. black swan was better. similar types of books, but this one made fun of the insiders. very funny take.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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- Victor G.
- 26-02-23
great, but could be better in paper than in audio
good food for thought. However it requires time to absorb the ideas, which is not sometimes the case in an audiobook
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- Michael Doherty
- 16-10-18
Fascinating
Deep thoughts presented with a great deal of insight and humour. So enjoyable listening to someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously yet has the intellect to take on the big issues.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Aurimas G.
- 26-07-18
Wow, this should be taught at schools!
Very interesting and engaging book that perhaps makes a lot of so called 'experts' and people who believe they and their services are irreplaceable (mainly i mean politicians and finance). It explains so much about why some people pay so much for what it seems they had no influence and some people get crazy rich while offloading the responsibility of they't bad (selfish) choices on others while reaping the rewards. I'd its about a casino where you get to play and if you WIN its great, it is your money! but if you loose, your neighbours family don't eat for a few weeks, its just in this case its scaled up a bit, to a country scale or perhaps planet earth.
Very good listen, I would also recommend reading it, to make sure to not miss some of the interesting ideas.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 11-12-19
good but derivative
The book is fine, but I felt that it is mostly derivative from other Incerto books, albeit from slightly different perspective.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Gibran Butt
- 19-06-18
great book
great insight, easy to listen to. will need to listen over a couple of times.
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