Saw this in Taleb’s book… Obviously a joke but Why do you think ??
What was he referring to with this comment? Was this from Black Swan? Personally I would hire a person that cares about their appearance and is qualified over an equally qualified slob.
BullPow Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Saw this in Taleb’s book… Obviously a joke but > Why do you think ?? well dressed = have enough dough to not worry about money? take too many risks because you have nothing to lose?
well dressed = blows money = needs money = takes high risk?
Takes too much risk and will eventually blow up.
The sad part is I don’t think it’s a joke, he’s expressed this sentiment a few times over. He thinks it has to do with not being able to trust someone who is well dressed as they are putting on a front to deceive you…specifically with reference to people wearing ties. Taleb, if you haven’t noticed, is kind of a tool. Granted a more useful and accomplished tool than I, but still a tool.
i think he is generalizing that the best quant minded individuals usually do not know how to dress, therefore the flip of that is if you well dressed, you are not very quant minded… Think: Phd at MIT vs Frat Boy at USC…
They call them NERD
BullPow. I’ll take a look at the chapter tonight. Following the logic presented I think it’s going out on a limb to say that someone who dresses well blows a lot of money and therefore will take greater risks. This would be more true if their spending habits were lavish in all regards but still questionable.
Not sure the context used in his book, but I doubt his point is much different…here’s a newsweek quote from Taleb. “Yes. Never take advice from anyone in a tie. They’ll bankrupt you. Don’t ask a general for advice on war, and don’t ask a broker for advice on money. Think about the derivatives mess—buying credit derivatives from these banks was like buying insurance for the Titanic from people who were on the Titanic!”
LPoulin133 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Never take advice from anyone in a tie. I’d much rather get my financial advice from a guy wearing a hard hat…
I read an article about Talib in Best Life magazine (don’t ask me why) in which he said, among other things, that he works out infrequently but very intensely for evolutionary reasons, which is obviously idiotic. I’m a big fan of Fooled by Randomess but I think there is quite a bit of chaff among the substantial wheat in his stuff. I would not take something like that comment about traders’ dress too seriously.
It’s worth noting that Talib is also supposedly all about elegance in one’s personal style, Seneca and all that. At least in Fooled by Randomness.