BN Confidential: Nassim Taleb closes out five book Incerto. Tops my list.

By Alec Hogg*.When asked for a single reading recommendation, for the longest time I've gone with Nassim Taleb's wonderful Fooled by Randomness. It's that good. A masterpiece that opened a new window on the world, changing my perception and, indeed, selection of how to invest my time..Not surprisingly for a bookworm, the unusual discovery of the astonishingly original author and FBR is a story I love sharing. But not today..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Instead, this is a brief review of Taleb's latest. Because having just concluded my study of Taleb's latest masterpiece (one doesn't just "read" his books) behoves me to share. And urge you to invest in a copy. Soonest..Skin In The Game is the fifth of what Taleb calls his Incerto collection – Latin for "uncertainty" – which began with Fooled By Randomness (2001). Next came his prescient The Black Swan (2007) which was published just moths ahead ahead of the Global Financial Crisis and earned him global fame. The other two are The Bed of Procrustes (2010) and Antifragile (2012)..https://twitter.com/AgentOfTruth/status/1024316272459300864.What he describes as the final instalment of the Incerto has big literary boots to fill. But those seven years have been well spent – including, he shares, time in South Africa where Nassim learnt some important lessons after spending a day in a game park looking for lions. (There are fewer predators among us than fear would have us believe.).I've seen Taleb up close a few times, seemingly always in exotic locations – Nice, Monaco, Davos, Sandton – and have never been disappointed. And can say the same for the latest book..He is a self-admitted flaneur, someone who swans around observing things. And ever since leaving a full-time job trading in the financial markets, has been doing so for our collective benefit..In essence, what Taleb observers gets tested against the wisdom of the ages and translated for a modern day audience..Like Taleb's other books, for me Skin In The Game was a project..Over almost a month, early each morning after prayers and journaling I'd eagerly grab my pencil to tackle the next stretch of this 236 page paperback. And absorb. Slowly taking in the lessons from a man who teaches that life without honour is no life at all – and urges us to follow the Silver Rule: "Don't do unto others what you don't want them to do unto you.".He is impatient with "Intellectuals Yet Idiots", bureaucratic worthies or powerful ideologists who dictate without any consequences for their own circumstances. The pontificating class who aid their skinless rule makers – academics, pundits, politicians, journalists – also get short shrift from Taleb..Instead, he urges us to heed those who do, not those who talk. Those whose actions have a direct impact on their existence. To whit: "Entrepreneurs are heroes in our society. They fail for the rest of us. Products of companies that bear the owner's name convey very valuable messages. They are shouting that they have something to lose.".The book is full of great stories, often fulfilling wise old owl Charlie Munger's insistence that we can learn a lot from dead guys..Like the first recorded legal code, Hammurabi's Law, 282 directives carved into large volcanic rocks and displayed in the centre of Babylon almost 4,000 years ago. Including, for instance, "If a builder builds a house and that house collapses and causes the death of the owner of the house – the builder shall be put to death.".Taleb laments how such "skin in the game" societal rules have been replaced by practices fashioned for the benefit of a risk-free elite. He refers to examples like his "Rubin's Trade" – where the former US Treasury Secretary (Bob Rubin) banked more than $120m during the excessive risk-taking decade to 2008, but took no pain when the system blew up (indeed, he used taxpayer funds to bail out his banking pals – nine of whom were forced to repay their ill gotten gains.).There is so much more to this book. Explanations of how the unholy alliance between big business and politics is enforced through regulations; his brilliant Lindy Principle; why you should never trust a surgeon who looks like a surgeon; why the original assassins never killed many people; practical applications for risk-taking, the difference between ensemble and time probability and plenty more..There's a technical appendix where Taleb proves his points by showing off some of his mathematics skills. But for me the best summary in an epilogue where he runs a long maxim, "via negativa style", whose list includes….No muscles without strength.…friendship without trust.…opinion without consequence.…facts without rigour.…teaching without experience.…progress without civilisation.and, most of all.…nothing without skin in the game..You get the picture? As mentioned before, go buy the book. It will be one of the better investments you make this year. Guaranteed..Alec Hogg is the founder and editor of Biznews.

BN Confidential: Nassim Taleb closes out five book Incerto. Tops my list.

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