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What Can Nassim Taleb Teach Us About Probabilities

at 2:12

From the episode: Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Rationality, Risk, and Skin in the Game

Most people don't understand probabilities. They think that if a probability of success is high, that means they can benefit from it indefinitely. A stock trader, for example, might look at the probably of making a large return, and risk everything on it, over and over again.

In reality, however, if there is a smallest chance of an absorbing barrier, an event in which your lose everything, then it is just a matter of time until that even happens, and you will lose everything.

EconTalk · Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Rationality, Risk, and Skin in the Game · at 2:12 · ·Transcript

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