In a brief-but-to-the-point missive on Huffington Post, “Black Swan” theorist and “Fooled by Randomness” author Nassim Taleb — perhaps best known for being the most prominent Cassandra of the global banking crisis — says has had enough. The reappointment of Ben Bernanke is the last straw. Now, Mr. Taleb is going into voluntary exile …
What I am seeing and hearing on the news — the reappointment of Bernanke — is too hard for me to bear. I cannot believe that we, in the 21st century, can accept living in such a society. I am not blaming Bernanke (he doesn’t even know he doesn’t understand how things work or that the tools he uses are not empirical); it is the Senators appointing him who are totally irresponsible — as if we promoted every doctor who caused malpractice. The world has never, never been as fragile. Economics make homeopath and alternative healers look empirical and scientific.
No news, no press, no Davos, no suit-and-tie fraudsters, no fools. I need to withdraw as immediately as possible into the Platonic quiet of my library, work on my next book, find solace in science and philosophy, and mull the next step. I will also structure trades with my Universa friends to bet on the next mistake by Bernanke, Summers, and Geithner. I will only (briefly) emerge from my hiatus when the publishers force me to do so upon the publication of the paperback edition of The Black Swan
Many of the rest of us may feel like we have been snookered for fools by the current adminstration, but lack the wherewithal to go into exile. Enjoy the time off, Nassim. Somehow, I think you’ll be back.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
agree with you but alternative and homeopath medicine is not a great analogy-metaphor. m do some research o
while in exile … einstein once said a colleague was over estitimated reason in human kind. i too feel the things and choices of our leadership is hard to fathom. but a system and population has been spoon fed complacent living, hypocrisy, and lust for experts to run their lives…and make their choices…in the meantime mainstream is blocking the rebellous reality…join lou dobbs and dont get sucked in like roubini
I certainly am not seeing the change Obama said he’d bring. This isn’t change - we demand more.
Change we can believe in - change to communism from fascism of the GWB regime and NWO crap from Clinton and Bush I before them. The Founders told us to avoid empire building which is exactly what the USA did.
The hope part of Obama’s campaign slogan was probably the hope we as an American people will have that someday we will regain our freedom from total state capture from foreign and domestic crime syndicates.
The awful part is, they will just hire thugs from all around the world to collect the taxes of their new citizen property. It is going to get real ugly here in the next four years.
I don’t blame Taleb, he fought the brave fight tirelessly. Nothing left to do in his mind except to watch the chaos and anarchy unfold. When it all does calm down years from now, I hope he comes back and helps rebuild a new American Republic. This one is over, it became a social democracy, mob rule.