Diether

“If you want to get an idea of a friend's temperament, ethics, and personal elegance, you need to look at him under the tests of severe circumstances, not under the regular rosy glow of daily life.”
― Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

“What was “walking on water,” if it wasn’t Bible talk for surfing?”
― Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice

“I know that history is going to be dominated by an improbable event, I just don’t know what that event will be.”
― Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

“Humans will believe anything you say provided you do not exhibit the smallest shadow of diffidence; like animals, they can detect the smallest crack in your confidence before you express it. The trick is to be as smooth as possible in personal manners. It is much easier to signal self-confidence if you are exceedingly polite and friendly; you can control people without having to offend their sensitivity.”
― Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable