SKU: 82478990073

Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life ( Incerto )

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Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life ( Incerto )#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A bold work from the author of The Black Swan that challenges many of our long held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance and personal responsibility In his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others. Citing

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A bold work from the author of The Black Swan that challenges many of our long-held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance and personal responsibility

In his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others. Citing examples ranging from Hammurabi to Seneca, Antaeus the Giant to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to accept one's own risks is an essential attribute of heroes, saints, and flourishing people in all walks of life.

As always both accessible and iconoclastic, Taleb challenges long-held beliefs about the values of those who spearhead military interventions, make financial investments, and propagate religious faiths. Among his insights:

- For social justice, focus on symmetry and risk sharing. You cannot make profits and transfer the risks to others, as bankers and large corporations do. You cannot get rich without owning your own risk and paying for your own losses. Forcing skin in the game corrects this asymmetry better than thousands of laws and regulations.

- Ethical rules aren't universal. You're part of a group larger than you, but it's still smaller than humanity in general.
- Minorities, not majorities, run the world. The world is not run by consensus but by stubborn minorities imposing their tastes and ethics on others.
- You can be an intellectual yet still be an idiot. "Educated philistines" have been wrong on everything from Stalinism to Iraq to low-carb diets.
- Beware of complicated solutions (that someone was paid to find). A simple barbell can build muscle better than expensive new machines.
- True religion is commitment, not just faith. How much you believe in something is manifested only by what you're willing to risk for it.

The phrase "skin in the game" is one we have often heard but rarely stopped to truly dissect. It is the backbone of risk management, but it's also an astonishingly rich worldview that, as Taleb shows in this book, applies to all aspects of our lives. As Taleb says, "The symmetry of skin in the game is a simple rule that's necessary for fairness and justice, and the ultimate BS-buster," and "Never trust anyone who doesn't have skin in the game. Without it, fools and crooks will benefit, and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nassim Nicholas Taleb spent twenty-one years as a risk taker before becoming a researcher in philosophical, mathematical, and (mostly) practical problems with probability. Although he spends most of his time as a flâneur, meditating in cafs across the planet, he is currently Distinguished Professor at New York University's Tandon School of Engineering. His books, part of a multivolume collection called Incerto, have been published in forty-one languages. Taleb has authored more than fifty scholarly papers as backup to Incerto, ranging from international affairs and risk management to statistical physics. Having been described as "a rare mix of courage and erudition," he is widely recognized as the foremost thinker on probability and uncertainty. Taleb lives mostly in New York.

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SKU: 82478990073

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DollarBill
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 5
Great Room divider
Color: Beige, Size: 34"- 3 Panel
Works well in separating my kids play area from my computer/office room. Easy to put together, height is perfect somewhat sturdy, looks great, light weight, not good if you are using it as a door, but if it is to stay in place than it is stable enough.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2025
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zakah123
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
Exactly what I needed
Color: Black, Size: 34"- 3 Panel, Color: Black, Size: 34"- 3 Panel
It was easy to put together even without a power drill. Completely opaque. Only a very small slit between poles. I plan to add black electrical tape, but that's because I don't want nosies peeking through to see my screen. The height is beautiful. I was afraid it wouldn't be as tall as I needed. But it is perfect. I share a small office with a good buddy of mine. People passing by our door is distracting and invites them to speak to me. I needed something that would stop the former and prevent the latter, especially when I'm deep in concentration mode. The two panels are enough to block outsiders and the third panel I will employ when I can't even be disturbed by my officemate. It's the fastest and easiest signal not to disrupt me at all. 10/10
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Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2025
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mrcricket
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 3
Packaging contents
Color: Grey, Size: 34"- 3 Panel
Item is as described however this one appeared to be open and some parts possibly used. Example pole packaging mislabeled one had the letter K as a part there is no letter K item in the instructions. Another pole part had a taped on letter A which is completely different from the others thus indicating that it was opened or substituted. Finally after the partition was completely put together one of the bottom screw connection anchors came out making the partition unable to stand. I'm going to have to rig something up in order to get the anchor connected to the bottom panel. In closure the partion could be very acceptable and do the job if it was new and parts labeled correctly. I have pictures of all parts and packaging errors. Would buy again if new. I'm going to pursue some kind of compensation.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2026
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Wendy Gray
Boise, US
★★★★★ 5
Great product
Color: Grey, Size: 34"- 6 Panel
This room divider is great. It was easy to put together. I was worried about it standing up right and not falling over. It stays up perfectly and is very easy to move and adjust to the shape I want it. Also, from one of the videos I watched it looked like the fabric was puckered in the panels. That is not the case at all. The fabric fits tightly in each panel for a nice smooth look. I would definitely recommend this and would buy again if needed.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2025
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Alex caine
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 1
Awful.
Color: Black, Size: 22"- 4 Panel
Easiest one star review ever. I'm writing this with bloody fingers from assembling this. Multiple poles were bent, none of the pole connectors worked, the hex wrench broke in my hand, the screws didn't really go into the holes provided (I had to get a friend with a press drill to widen the holes to make it work), there are sharp edges on the poles where there is a seam, and doesn't look that great once assembled. Easy do not buy, the only reason I didn't return is because it would have been tough to disassemble the half I got through in the first 5 hours of building (mostly spent fixing the product delivered)
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Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2025

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