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A black swan is not "an unknown unknown." It's something very rare, possibly non-existent - the phrase has been part of the English language for centuries (from
by meepmorp 5y ago
A black swan is not "an unknown unknown." It's something very rare, possibly non-existent - the phrase has been part of the English language for centuries (from Latin), and is clearly not being used in reference to Taleb's book:
> "This defect is like a black swan—something special going on that isn't typical," said Dr. Edwin Thomas, professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering
- devy 5y agoYep. Even though related but the phrase "black swan" is different from the "Black Swan Theory". The wikipedia entry[1] has the explanation of both. And the usage by Dr. Thomas certain refers to the phrase not the theory. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory
- peheje 5y agoRather "Outside context problem"?
- SAI_Peregrinus 5y agoRelated, but that's a subset of "black swan". Not every "black swan" is a problem.
- rozab 5y agoThe meaning of the phrase changed completely once black swans were actually discovered in Australia.
- waheoo 5y agoDid it though?
- blacksmith_tb 5y agoIsn't that the point? Before English-speakers had seen one, 'black swan' was a nonsense impossibility, like water flowing uphill. After Brits saw them in Australia, the phrase changed from 'total impossibility' to 'extremely unlikely but what do you know, actually true!'
- RosanaAnaDana 5y agoRight..