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Skin in the Game
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- Skin in the Game
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Top positive review
Skin in the Game: Heuristic to cut through the BS & get the real deal
19 September 2018
This book introduces an important filtering mechanism to get the real deal in life. "Skin in the game" is about getting the agents to not only enjoy the upside of their actions but also claim the downside of the consequences emanating from those actions.
This is important in the longer run, because non perishable things such as ideas, lifestyle, dietary habits, religions that have survived for a long time, being sufficiently stressed by time, will survive for much longer (Lindy's Effect). But the critical piece here is that the agents espousing these non-perishables should have a skin in the game.
The contrast is the rent seekers, or bureaucrats who only get the upside of their actions (bonuses), but pass on the downside to others citing uncertainty. Thus they get to be in decision making for a long time without being affected by the ill-effects of those decisions.
The book applies the heuristic to multiple areas. Interesting concepts covered in the books include Minority Rule (How intransigent minorities determine the preference of majority), Intellectual Yet Idiots (People who confuse complex systems for simple systems, and prescribe appealing but harmful solutions), Rationality of Religions (The do's & dont's in Religions inspire actions from followers, and these actions have enabled the adherants to survive. Rationality can only be discussed in the context of survival, or rather the avoidance of systemic ruin).
As usual Taleb is witty, names names (Bob Rubin, Thaler, Saudi Princes), acerbic but very insightful.
One thing that Taleb misses out on is application of Lindy's Effect to the relatively longer survival of Lithuanians, Irish and the Hindus who did not have the warrior but the priestly class at the top. Societies which had a warrior class at the top caved in to the invasion by semetic religions in a very short duration. However the adherants of these religions resisted converting to the invading Semetic religions for the longest period. So Lindy does seem to have a role to play here.
Final word: Excellent book. Will be revisiting this one many more times.
This is important in the longer run, because non perishable things such as ideas, lifestyle, dietary habits, religions that have survived for a long time, being sufficiently stressed by time, will survive for much longer (Lindy's Effect). But the critical piece here is that the agents espousing these non-perishables should have a skin in the game.
The contrast is the rent seekers, or bureaucrats who only get the upside of their actions (bonuses), but pass on the downside to others citing uncertainty. Thus they get to be in decision making for a long time without being affected by the ill-effects of those decisions.
The book applies the heuristic to multiple areas. Interesting concepts covered in the books include Minority Rule (How intransigent minorities determine the preference of majority), Intellectual Yet Idiots (People who confuse complex systems for simple systems, and prescribe appealing but harmful solutions), Rationality of Religions (The do's & dont's in Religions inspire actions from followers, and these actions have enabled the adherants to survive. Rationality can only be discussed in the context of survival, or rather the avoidance of systemic ruin).
As usual Taleb is witty, names names (Bob Rubin, Thaler, Saudi Princes), acerbic but very insightful.
One thing that Taleb misses out on is application of Lindy's Effect to the relatively longer survival of Lithuanians, Irish and the Hindus who did not have the warrior but the priestly class at the top. Societies which had a warrior class at the top caved in to the invasion by semetic religions in a very short duration. However the adherants of these religions resisted converting to the invading Semetic religions for the longest period. So Lindy does seem to have a role to play here.
Final word: Excellent book. Will be revisiting this one many more times.
11 people found this helpful
Top critical review
Not a patch on the earlier books!
5 May 2018
Not a patch on the earlier books. Fails both in terms of content as well as interesting narrative.
3 people found this helpful
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Showing 1-10 of 50 reviews
19 September 2018
This book introduces an important filtering mechanism to get the real deal in life. "Skin in the game" is about getting the agents to not only enjoy the upside of their actions but also claim the downside of the consequences emanating from those actions.
This is important in the longer run, because non perishable things such as ideas, lifestyle, dietary habits, religions that have survived for a long time, being sufficiently stressed by time, will survive for much longer (Lindy's Effect). But the critical piece here is that the agents espousing these non-perishables should have a skin in the game.
The contrast is the rent seekers, or bureaucrats who only get the upside of their actions (bonuses), but pass on the downside to others citing uncertainty. Thus they get to be in decision making for a long time without being affected by the ill-effects of those decisions.
The book applies the heuristic to multiple areas. Interesting concepts covered in the books include Minority Rule (How intransigent minorities determine the preference of majority), Intellectual Yet Idiots (People who confuse complex systems for simple systems, and prescribe appealing but harmful solutions), Rationality of Religions (The do's & dont's in Religions inspire actions from followers, and these actions have enabled the adherants to survive. Rationality can only be discussed in the context of survival, or rather the avoidance of systemic ruin).
As usual Taleb is witty, names names (Bob Rubin, Thaler, Saudi Princes), acerbic but very insightful.
One thing that Taleb misses out on is application of Lindy's Effect to the relatively longer survival of Lithuanians, Irish and the Hindus who did not have the warrior but the priestly class at the top. Societies which had a warrior class at the top caved in to the invasion by semetic religions in a very short duration. However the adherants of these religions resisted converting to the invading Semetic religions for the longest period. So Lindy does seem to have a role to play here.
Final word: Excellent book. Will be revisiting this one many more times.
This is important in the longer run, because non perishable things such as ideas, lifestyle, dietary habits, religions that have survived for a long time, being sufficiently stressed by time, will survive for much longer (Lindy's Effect). But the critical piece here is that the agents espousing these non-perishables should have a skin in the game.
The contrast is the rent seekers, or bureaucrats who only get the upside of their actions (bonuses), but pass on the downside to others citing uncertainty. Thus they get to be in decision making for a long time without being affected by the ill-effects of those decisions.
The book applies the heuristic to multiple areas. Interesting concepts covered in the books include Minority Rule (How intransigent minorities determine the preference of majority), Intellectual Yet Idiots (People who confuse complex systems for simple systems, and prescribe appealing but harmful solutions), Rationality of Religions (The do's & dont's in Religions inspire actions from followers, and these actions have enabled the adherants to survive. Rationality can only be discussed in the context of survival, or rather the avoidance of systemic ruin).
As usual Taleb is witty, names names (Bob Rubin, Thaler, Saudi Princes), acerbic but very insightful.
One thing that Taleb misses out on is application of Lindy's Effect to the relatively longer survival of Lithuanians, Irish and the Hindus who did not have the warrior but the priestly class at the top. Societies which had a warrior class at the top caved in to the invasion by semetic religions in a very short duration. However the adherants of these religions resisted converting to the invading Semetic religions for the longest period. So Lindy does seem to have a role to play here.
Final word: Excellent book. Will be revisiting this one many more times.
13 January 2019
The author impresses upon the fact that action matters more than word, as in action there is always something at stake- i.e. skin in the game. One should learn from the doers rather than preachers since preachers rarely have skin the game on what they are preaching, meaning to learn let say about stock markets, better to work under a trader, stock broker rather than going for some study course from some an institute.
The book deserves a permanent place in your library as one may read it several times for assimilating the facts , ideas mentioned. Found the book to be a difficult to understand at certain stages but enjoyed reading through till end. Not the mention the Epilogue, readers don't forget (ignore) to read the same, the author has finished the writing with very impressive long maxim which pretty much summarizes the full book, " No muscles without strength, No friendship without trust, No opinion without consequence......................................... and most of all nothing without skin in the game.
The author has convinced without doubt that whatever should be learned,practiced, observed, aspired should always have something at stake i.e. SKIN IN THE GAME.
A MUST READ, THANKS TALEB, THANKS AMAZON ||||||
The book deserves a permanent place in your library as one may read it several times for assimilating the facts , ideas mentioned. Found the book to be a difficult to understand at certain stages but enjoyed reading through till end. Not the mention the Epilogue, readers don't forget (ignore) to read the same, the author has finished the writing with very impressive long maxim which pretty much summarizes the full book, " No muscles without strength, No friendship without trust, No opinion without consequence......................................... and most of all nothing without skin in the game.
The author has convinced without doubt that whatever should be learned,practiced, observed, aspired should always have something at stake i.e. SKIN IN THE GAME.
A MUST READ, THANKS TALEB, THANKS AMAZON ||||||
17 March 2018
A much needed work at a time when IYIs (Intellectual yet Idiots) in the public space (op-ed writers and talking heads - not journalists, economists, social 'scientists') try to dictate public tastes, choices and preferences without any downside for being wrong and causing large-scale harm. This book is a continuation of Taleb's earlier work - Fooled by Randomness, Black Swan and Anti-Fragile.
15 June 2018
It’s Taleb.
He goes on rants and asides and tells wonderful stories and writes with passion.
And being Taleb, you’ll love him or hate him.
There is no grey
It’s a beautiful book.
He goes on rants and asides and tells wonderful stories and writes with passion.
And being Taleb, you’ll love him or hate him.
There is no grey
It’s a beautiful book.
5 May 2018
Not a patch on the earlier books. Fails both in terms of content as well as interesting narrative.
6 March 2018
I follow every single one of his tweets..hence was sort of disappointed as I felt I already knew what he was going to say.
7 May 2018
Wunderkind. You will never be the same again after reading this book. You may also marry a spanish grammar teacher. Taleb clearly shows what many people have suspected - things are trickier than what scientists and journalists would have us believe.
9 April 2018
Its a great and a must read for all who are bothered about the destabilising happenings in the current world.
