The Bed of Procrustes

Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

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English

Random House Inc
30 November 2010

Social & political philosophy; Psychology; Social, group or collective psychology; Corporate finance

Series: Incerto

By the author of the modern classic The Black Swan, this collection of aphorisms and meditations expresses his major ideas in ways you least expect. The Bed of Procrustes takes its title from Greek mythology: the story of a man who made his visitors fit his bed to perfection by either stretching them or cutting their limbs. It represents Taleb's view of modern civilization's hubristic side effects--modifying humans to satisfy technology, blaming reality for not fitting economic models, inventing diseases to sell drugs, defining intelligence as what can be tested in a classroom, and convincing people that employment is not slavery. Playful and irreverent, these aphorisms will surprise you by exposing self-delusions you have been living with but never recognized. With a rare combination of pointed wit and potent wisdom, Taleb plows through human illusions, contrasting the classical values of courage, elegance, and erudition against the modern diseases of nerdiness, philistinism, and phoniness.

By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Imprint: Random House Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 208mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 346g
ISBN: 9781400069972
ISBN 10: 1400069971
Series: Incerto
Pages: 112
Publication Date: 30 November 2010
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms

Praise for Nassim Nicholas Taleb -The most prophetic voice of all.- --GQ -The hottest thinker in the world.- --Bryan Appleyard, The Sunday Times (London) -[Taleb writes] in a style that owes as much to Stephen Colbert as it does to Michel de Montaigne.- --The Wall Street Journal -Idiosyncratically brilliant.- --Niall Ferguson, Los Angeles Times