Currently reading the new book of aphorisms by Nassim Nicholas Taleb: 'The Bed of Procrustes'
A friend highly recommended Taleb's earlier book "The Black Swan" to me and will be lending it to me soon.
I have been a lover of aphorisms for several years now, especially ever since another friend introduced me to the Zurau aphorisms of Franz Kafka.
Here is a great review/some thoughts on aphorisms in response to "The Bed of Procrustes". Though I suppose if I really want you to read it, I should say it's overrated.
A few of my favorite aphorisms that Gerard didn't mention:
"Engineers can compute but not define, mathematicians can define but not compute, economists can neither define nor compute."
"The best revenge on a liar is to convince him that you believe what he said."
"A good maxim allows you to have the last word without even starting a conversation." (my note: thank you Kant!)
"Most so-called writers keep writing and writing with the hope to, some day, find something to say."
"The imagination of the genius vastly surpasses his intellect; the intellect of the academic vastly surpasses his imagination"
"For Seneca, the Stoic sage should withdraw from public efforts when unheeded and the state is corrupt beyond repair. It is wiser to wait for self-destruction."
"They think that intelligence is about noticing things that are relevant (detecting patterns); in a complex world, intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant (avoiding false patterns)."
"The left holds that because markets are stupid models should be smart; the right believes that because models are stupid markets should be smart. Alas, it never hit both sides that both markets and models are very stupid."
