3 ms·

I wish Taleb would stop making up weird phrases and pushing them in his writing. What does "skin in the game" even mean? I mean linguistically. It's a weird phr

by anon4 11y ago

I wish Taleb would stop making up weird phrases and pushing them in his writing. What does "skin in the game" even mean? I mean linguistically. It's a weird phrase that I still have trouble parsing and have to stop and think every time I see it. Why not "involvement"? Why "game"? Which meaning of "game" is even in this? Does he mean "have a portion of the skin of the game animal that would be killed at the end of the hunt allotted to you"? Or is it "to wager some of one's own skin on the outcome of a game"? But then your skin isn't really in the game per se, is it? As in, it doesn't take active part in the game, right? So how is it "in" the "game"? It just hurts my head :(

tetrep 11y ago
It's not a phrase made up by Taleb. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_in_the_game_(phrase) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_in_the_game_(phrase)
Aloha 11y ago
Skin in the game is a pretty well known idiom. So I don't think he made it up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_in_the_game_%28phrase%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_in_the_game_%28phrase%29
neffy 11y ago
He's also a trader - "talking his book". http://www.yourdictionary.com/talking-one-s-book http://www.yourdictionary.com/talking-one-s-book
dubhrosa 11y ago
Having 'skin in the game' means having a stake in the outcome, e.g. "Paul should invest in the company, if he's going to sit on the board he should have some skin in the game" It's a really, really common phrase on trading floors and among business investor types, at least in London. But your point stands, it's not a phrase that I feel belongs in well written prose.