The World's Best Book Summaries
No one can predict the future. But why? Why are some situations and events more predictable than others? We’ll cover the nature of predictability according to Nassim Nicholas Taleb and look at why it is that no one can predict the future.
What is the black swan fallacy? How is it most famous today? The black swan fallacy is the tendency of people to ignore evidence that contradicts their beliefs and assumptions. This fallacy can also refer to the tendency to believe that things they’ve never witnessed don’t exist. We’ll cover the roots of the black swan fallacy and look at modern-day, black-swan-fallacy examples.
What is stage 4 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? What is “crossing the threshold”? Crossing the threshold is the stage at which the hero comes to a point where he is further away from the world of comfort and familiarity than he has ever been before. Crossing the threshold is stage 4 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. We’ll cover what crossing the threshold entails and look at an example of this stage of the hero’s journey.
What is stage 3 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? What is the significance of supernatural aid? Supernatural aid is the stage of a hero’s journey during which the hero meets an otherworldly helper. This supernatural aid is a personification of the hero’s destiny. Supernatural aid is stage 3 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. We’ll cover what forms this supernatural aid may take and look at an example of a hero encountering supernatural aid.
What are some good hero’s journey examples? What can these examples of the hero’s journey demonstrate about the hero’s journey? Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces is an exploration of the power of myth and storytelling, from the ancient world to modern times, and spanning every human culture across the world. We’ll cover hero’s journey examples for the departure stage of the journey and explore how the themes of myth remain consistent across the globe.
What is Extremistan? Where is it? Where does the word come from? What elements of our lives fall under the purview of Extremistan? Extremistan is a term coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb to explain the randomness and deviations from the mean of most social, man-made aspects of human society. The term was popularized by Taleb’s book The Black Swan. We’ll cover what Extremistan is, how it differs from Mediocristan, what kinds of events and characteristics come from the land of Extremistan, and why Extremistan often makes prediction impossible.
What is deterministic chaos? How is it different than “true randomness”? Can we make predictions in situations of deterministic chaos? Deterministic chaos is a system whose operation could be predicted, but whose complexity makes prediction so difficult that it’s effectively impossible. That is, if we had the right information, we would be able to make sense of “chaos.” We’ll cover situations of deterministic chaos and if it affects our decision-making.
What is stage 6 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? What is the “road of trials”? The road of trials is the stage of a hero’s journey during which the hero undergoes a series of trials and tests. The road of trails is stage 6 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Will cover what the road of trials may look like and explore two examples of a hero on the road of trials.
What is stage 5 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? What does “the belly of the whale” have to do with the hero’s journey? The belly of the whale is the stage of a hero’s journey during which the hero symbolically dies and then must be reborn. The belly of the whale is stage 5 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. We’ll cover what forms the belly-of-the-whale stage may take and look at two examples of a hero encountering the belly of the whale.
What is the hero’s journey? How is it relevant today? The hero’s journey is a template of the plots of ancient and current myths and legends. It was popularized by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces. We’ll cover what the hero’s journey entails and why it’s still relevant today.