Primary source
Skin in the Game
Written by Nassim Nicholas Taleb · 2018 · grounds Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Overview
Hidden asymmetries in daily life: who bears the downside of a decision, why symmetry of risk is the precondition for trust, and how removing skin in the game corrupts a system.
A full write-up of this book has not been published yet.
Skills drawn from this book
Installable Claude Code skills grounded in this text. Each one teaches a framework the book actually argues for.
/nassim-taleb:portfolio-not-opinionDon't Tell Me What You Think, Tell Me What's in Your PortfolioBefore you act on anyone's opinion (including your own), find out what they actually have exposed to it, because unexposed advice is a sales pitch wearing the costume of counsel.
/nassim-taleb:minority-ruleThe Minority Rule: How a Stubborn Few Set the Terms for EveryoneFind the smallest, most inflexible group in a market or population, because a rigid minority as small as three or four percent can force the flexible majority to conform to it, not the other way around.
/nassim-taleb:intellectual-yet-idiotThe Intellectual Yet Idiot CheckBefore you follow someone's confident advice about how you should live, eat, vote, or run your business, check whether they have ever had to survive the consequences of being wrong about it.
/nassim-taleb:skin-of-others-auditThe Skin of Others AuditBefore you trust someone's public stance, or take one yourself, map out who else's downside is riding on it (a mortgage, a child's tuition, an employer, a reputation), because that hidden leverage predicts when the stance will bend.
/nassim-taleb:green-lumber-testThe Green Lumber Test for Hiring and Trusting ExpertsWhen vetting an expert, trader, or consultant, weight their track record under real consequences over how polished, credentialed, or articulate they sound, because the skills that produce results and the skills that produce a convincing presentation are usually different skills.
/nassim-taleb:merchandising-of-virtueThe Merchandising of Virtue TestBefore you credit, or claim, a virtuous stance, check whether it actually costs the holder something, because virtue that is free to hold and advertises itself is a status purchase, not virtue.