Skin in the Game

Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
By Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Published February 2018
304 Pages
Thibault’s Score: 4/5

After reading Antifragile, I was hooked. I now consider myself to be part of the Taleban - part of the Taleb fan club. But Skin in the Game was a little bit disappointing, mostly because of how much content was repeated from Antifragile.

Skin in the Game makes a central point: you cannot trust people who don’t have an incentive to be trustworthy. Don’t ask a stockbroker what their opinion on the markets is, ask them what they have in their portfolio.

Once again, he chastises academics for their lack of interaction with the real world; calls out crony capitalists for getting payoffs for their bad policies; and points out how ancient semetic law evolved to eliminate asymmetries.

Taleb’s writing style is always excellent. It is engaging, and he strips out all of the fluff words. I strive to be as good of a writer as he is.

I don’t recommend this book to people who have not joined the Taleban. It is less good than Antifragile, but repeats many of the same points. Just read Antifragile instead, and if you really like it, then read this as a follow up.

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