> Having thick skin, tolerating no bullshit, being blunt but respecting intelligent insights? I think the issue is that much of Taleb's work doesn't qualify as

> Having thick skin, tolerating no bullshit, being blunt but respecting intelligent insights? I think the issue is that much of Taleb's work doesn't qualify as intelligent insight, and is in fact bullshit. Black Swan was notable, and its core message makes the work worth reading. Just about everything else he has produced consists of meaningless platitudes, edgy, pretentious contrarian takes, and self-aggrandizing chest thumping. He is like if you combined Reddit's r/iamverysmart with the Sphinx character from the 90's movie Mystery Men. Being a dick perhaps is tolerable if you have genuine insight to offer. Without it, why must the dickish behavior be tolerated?