Life in the tail

Had dinner with Nassim Taleb last night, at Carluccio's off Russell Square. I realise now how he got into this Black Swan thing...his entire life is lived in the tail, every time we meet there is some major event happening. Last night it was his entry into the New York Times bestseller list at an impressive (even to him!) number 5. The photo was taken a couple of minutes after him getting the news from his publisher.

I only see NNT a few times a year, but always there is excitement. Unfortunately, not always of the good kind. We were walking along Bishopsgate a few years ago when a couple of planes flew into the WTC. Our discussions had to be cut short since he was managing a hedge fund which had a lot of tail exposure...long, of course. Another time we were giving one of our famous training courses together when we almost had to evacuate the building...it was the 21 July failed bombings in London.

I thought my life was quite unusual but I can't compete! And he seems to get younger as he gets older, clearly this life is good for him. (And, yes, Nassim, you are even getting slimmer!)

Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan is available from all good online bookshops, such as here.

P