We tend to treat our knowledge as personal property to be protected and defended. It is an ornament that allows us to rise in the pecking order. [...] We take what we know a little too seriously.

The fragile wants tranquility, the antifragile grows from disorder, and the robust doesn't care too much.

The grandchildren should not bear the debts of the grandparents.

My major hobby is teasing people who take themselves and the quality of their knowledge too seriously and those who don't have the guts to sometimes say: I don't know.

The central idea in The Black Swan is that: rare events cannot be estimated from empirical observation since they are rare.

I am happy everywhere except in places where I see glitz and rich farts. I am happiest in Brooklyn, where the concentration of rich farts is minimal.

Private equity has absolutely no reason to exist. The private equity holder has all the upside and the banks all the downside.