Thread by @shl

Skin in the Game by @nntaleb is the non-fiction book I've read recently that has stuck with me the most.

This is a thread of my highlights, with no additional commentary. If they're interesting, I recommend reading the book.

"Bureaucracy is a construction by which a person is conveniently separated from the consequences of his or her actions."

“Deal with weaker states as you think it appropriate for stronger states to deal with you.”

“Conduct yourself toward your parents as you would have your children conduct themselves toward you.”

“Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end."

“Would you agree to deny the freedom of speech to every political party that has in its charter the banning of freedom of speech?”

"Diverse societies are more syncretic."

"Employees exist because they have significant skin in the game—and the risk is shared with them, enough risk for it to be a deterrent and a penalty for acts of undependability, such as failing to show up on time. You are buying dependability."

"Intellectual and ethical freedom requires the absence of the skin of others in one’s game, which is why the free are so rare."

"To be free of conflict you need to have no friends."

"We have rarely in history faced a situation in which the perpetrator of a crime has a completely asymmetric payoff and upside from death itself."

"A systematic interview of blue-collar Americans found a resentment of high-paid professionals but, unexpectedly, not of the rich."

"What we learn from professionals in the real world is that data is not necessarily rigor."

"Someone with a high public presence who is controversial and takes risks for his opinion is less likely to be a bull***t vendor."

“In order to succeed, you must first survive.”

amazon.com/Skin-Game-Hidd…