The World's Best Book Summaries
What is Nassim Taleb’s book Skin in the Game about? What is the central premise of Taleb’s “skin in the game” philosophy? Skin in the Game is the fifth book in Taleb’s Incerto series. The main idea of the Incerto is that the world is fundamentally unpredictable, and Skin in the Game is about the ethics of living in that uncertain world. Below is a brief overview of the key points.
Does your creative muse come and leave out of the blue? How can you maintain your creative inspiration in the long run, and ideally, for the rest of your life? Creativity is a capricious force—it can come and go at the most unexpected times. If you want to maintain your creative momentum, you must subdue this force to your control. In this article, we’ll discuss several big-picture approaches you should take to your creativity to keep your creative juices flowing.
How did language and literacy impact the growth of nationalism? What indirect impact did the advent of the printing press have on nationalism? According to Benedict Anderson’s theory, nationalism is a modern and “unnatural” social construct that quickly expanded after the rise in literacy. Language and nationalism are connected because one of the primary bonds that link strangers is their shared language. Continue reading for more on the link between language and the rise of nationalism.
How much do your friendships affect your life? Can a negative influence or unsupportive person really bring you down? In her bestselling book Girl, Stop Apologizing, Rachel Hollis says that the people you spend your time with (your community) mold who you are. Hollis talks about the importance of having a community and how to know when it’s time to cut off toxic people. Here is why your community matters so much.
What is a leadership vision statement? Why is making a vision statement an important step in leading change in your company? In John Kotter’s book Leading Change, he stresses the importance of creating a vision statement when leading change. This is important because it allows you to articulate the ultimate vision of the change and connects all your employees towards a singular purpose. Continue below to learn how to create a vision statement.
Do you think journalists are largely objective in their representation of news? What happens when a journalist disseminates a biased perspective? According to Nassim Taleb, bias in journalism is the result of journalists’ lack of “skin in the game.” Their salaries don’t depend on how much useful and accurate information they convey to the public—rather, they depend on how well they fulfill their employers’ expectations. In this article, we’ll describe the flaws caused by a lack of skin in the game that Taleb has identified in the news media.
What is the reward in the hero’s journey? How does the Irish legend of Cuchulainn illustrate this stage of the hero’s journey? The reward in the hero’s journey is often represented in the form of a beautiful woman that the hero marries after overcoming the hardships of his quest for herohood. This is perfectly illustrated in the Irish legend of Cuchulainn. He was only able to marry Emer (his love interest) after he had successfully completed the dangerous quest of learning supernatural arts from the warrior woman Scathach. Read on to learn more about the reward stage of the hero’s
What is Nassim Taleb’s “skin in the game” philosophy? What does it mean to have your skin in the game? In this book Skin in the Game, Nassim Nicholas Taleb deconstructs what we know about life and society with a new ideological framework that’s both unconventional in its insights and fundamentally human. By reinterpreting life in terms of risk and reward, Taleb demonstrates how “skin in the game” is the foundation of an honorable and fulfilling life and why shirking your fair share of risk is the root of all evil. In this article, we’ll explore Nassim Taleb’s philosophy behind
How do you stimulate creativity? More importantly, how do you see your creative idea to fruition? In her book Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert says that ideas come to you from the creative realm of “Big Magic.” When this happens, there are a number of responses you can give. The most common is to pass on the idea. The idea will then move on to find another host who can take it on. The other response is to say yes. When you say yes to an idea, you choose to work together and see the idea through to the end, whatever
How did nationalism arise in Europe? What were the key factors that have led to its development? It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that Europe started to feel its own form of national pride—part of this was thanks to the Enlightenment. Another contributing factor was the realization that Latin wasn’t the “superior” language and that there were, in fact, many ancient languages in the world. Keep reading to learn more about the making of nationalism in Europe.