by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
When I bought Skin in the Game by Nicholas Taleb, I didn’t fully understand what the book was about as I was more drawn to Taleb’s personality and witty insights from Twitter. But shortly after reading the most informative Preface of a book I’ve ever picked up, I realized what an important book Skin in the Game is for anybody who makes decisions or creates something in the modern world.
The basic idea of having Skin in the Game is that you have a personal investment tied to the outcome of an opinion, a business, and decisions over others; that if you are to make decisions that affect others, you are best and most fairly suited to do so where the results directly impact you.
Taleb illustrates these concepts brilliantly with examples ranging from the “politicians in the air-conditioned rooms” to looking deeper at the famous Golden Rule and why the Silver Rule may be a more robust way to treat others.
As of writing this (June 28, 2018) I’m about halfway through the book and know I will reread this many times in my life as the ideas are refreshingly new but have implications that will help you navigate the world in a more realistic and honest way.
by Walter Isaacson
Being a genius always sounded appealing to me so I read this book to study one. He played the violin, worked a desk job while working on his theories, walked with the best, and even ended up in Princeton – close to where I grew up.
I took more time understanding his personality and strange life scenarios than I did deep scientific research, but my favorite stories about Einstein came from my grandmother who used to see him walking on the Princeton campus.
