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A review by tim_ohearn
Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
5.0
I read this book a few months ago and enjoyed it. Taleb is kind of dickish but he often succeeds in making me question whether I'm smart enough to grasp what he's saying. This brings a special level of excitement to reading any of his works. To me, they present a challenge. A crossword puzzle of intellect with some pseudo elements.
The underlying concept in this book is evident from the title. It's an extrapolation of the principle-agent problem. Most of my notes from my original reading have been lost, unfortunately, but I managed to dig up one passage that jives:
"One problem with Taleb's writing is that when he goes out of his range, you can apply the same systematic ripping-you-a-new-one rebuttal that he applies to his own pieces.
He makes the argument that high class restaurants are primarily a way to separate yuppies like me from their money. This is tied to the fact that, as you ascend the ladder of society, life becomes more complicated, social posturing becomes more important, and thus more people are able to more easily extract money from you. The example he provides is that a lot of people order steak when they'd actually prefer a burger because burgers contain more fat. My experience of living in a big city validates part of this argument--that some yuppies spend money wrecklessly. I go through manic spending periods of my own. However, my opinion on the steak vs burger thing is that you go to a steakhouse for an environment and classification of food that you couldn't get at a burger joint. I love going to steakhouses and ordering burgers. I love going to steakhouses and ordering steaks. But a top-class steak at a top-class steakhouse kicks the shit out of a $20 burger at a top-class steakhouse. So the truth here is that his statement is not true.
I don't know. It's plausible that yuppies genuinely enjoy socializing at restaurants that may cost a lot. The burger/steak comparison irks me because if you're eating out period you're spending frivolously. I usually spend $17 at McDonald's to eat my fill."
The underlying concept in this book is evident from the title. It's an extrapolation of the principle-agent problem. Most of my notes from my original reading have been lost, unfortunately, but I managed to dig up one passage that jives:
"One problem with Taleb's writing is that when he goes out of his range, you can apply the same systematic ripping-you-a-new-one rebuttal that he applies to his own pieces.
He makes the argument that high class restaurants are primarily a way to separate yuppies like me from their money. This is tied to the fact that, as you ascend the ladder of society, life becomes more complicated, social posturing becomes more important, and thus more people are able to more easily extract money from you. The example he provides is that a lot of people order steak when they'd actually prefer a burger because burgers contain more fat. My experience of living in a big city validates part of this argument--that some yuppies spend money wrecklessly. I go through manic spending periods of my own. However, my opinion on the steak vs burger thing is that you go to a steakhouse for an environment and classification of food that you couldn't get at a burger joint. I love going to steakhouses and ordering burgers. I love going to steakhouses and ordering steaks. But a top-class steak at a top-class steakhouse kicks the shit out of a $20 burger at a top-class steakhouse. So the truth here is that his statement is not true.
I don't know. It's plausible that yuppies genuinely enjoy socializing at restaurants that may cost a lot. The burger/steak comparison irks me because if you're eating out period you're spending frivolously. I usually spend $17 at McDonald's to eat my fill."