Dec
1
Goodbye from Nassim Taleb
Filed Under Intellectual Honesty
A gem from Nassim Taleb, a trader who predicted the crash and sees more difficulties ahead:
What I am seeing and hearing on the news — the reappointment of Bernanke — is too hard for me to bear. I cannot believe that we, in the 21st century, can accept living in such a society. I am not blaming Bernanke (he doesn’t even know he doesn’t understand how things work or that the tools he uses are not empirical); it is the Senators appointing him who are totally irresponsible — as if we promoted every doctor who caused malpractice. The world has never, never been as fragile. Economics make homeopath and alternative healers look empirical and scientific. (emphasis by Inthon)
No news, no press, no Davos, no suit-and-tie fraudsters, no fools. I need to withdraw as immediately as possible into the Platonic quiet of my library, work on my next book, find solace in science and philosophy, and mull the next step. I will also structure trades with my Universa friends to bet on the next mistake by Bernanke, Summers, and Geithner. I will only (briefly) emerge from my hiatus when the publishers force me to do so upon the publication of the paperback edition of The Black Swan.
Bye,
Nassim
Bingo.
I would go one step further; rather than blaming the Senators, blame the voters who elected these Senators (all of whom are ignorant of the dangers of fiat currencies, central planning and central banking).
The U.S. has never been this fragile. An economy reliant on consumption, cheap energy/commodities, easy credit, entitlements, corporate welfare and social welfare is not durable or sustainable.
The years ahead will require deleveraging on a large scale and small scale. Those grounded with an awareness of our current unsustainability will be more apt to mentally weather the future slowdown/economic pain.
Takeaway: Borrowing money to spend on entitlements, wars and handouts cannot go on forever. Prepare yourself for the consequences of our current financial immaturity.
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One thinks of the definition of insanity as attributed to Albert Einstein:
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.