In Greek mythology Polyphemon used to invite
tired travellers into his small estate situated
in Attica.
He would generously offer his guests dinner
and a place to stay the night.
But Polyphemon had a twisted mind and a very
dark secret, much to the detriment of those
who fell for his hospitality.
He wanted the bed to perfectly fit the travellers,
who lay in it.
Determined to achieve that symmetry he did
the following; if his guests were too tall,
Polyphemon would decapitate them.
If they were too small, he would stretch them,
which earned him the pseudonym Procrustes,
which meant "the stretcher."
One day Theseus, the hero of this little story
about justice, came around and flipped the
script on Procrustes, decapitating him using
his very own method.
Now, what are we supposed to take away from
this?
Nassim Nicholas Taleb argues that we, the
human beings inhabiting this planet, try to
solve problems of great significance and complexity
with the same Procrustean method.
Instead of making the bed fit the travellers,
we stretch and cut off limbs to do the inverse.
One example Taleb points out are schoolchildren
who we pump full of medication so that they
adapt to the unbelievably flawed education
system, instead of altering the curriculum
to suit the children.
It couldn't be that a 10 year old boy is not
meant to sit in the same chair inside the
dull classroom for hours on end every day
and when he starts to fidget he's diagnosed
with ADHD, considered hyperactive and has
a learning disability, which of course needs
to be corrected by tinkering with his brain
chemistry.
Situations like this are everywhere around
us and they often bear grave consequences.
As it reads on the backcover "It represents
Taleb's view of modern civilization's hubristic
side effects -
modifying humans to satisfy technology,
blaming reality for not fitting economic models,
inventing diseases to sell drugs,
defining intelligence as what can be tested
in a classroom,
and convincing people that employment is not
slavery."
The Bed of Procrustes is a book full of aphorisms,
most ranging from a sentence to a paragraph
in size, with a thoughtful and potent message
that revolves around this idea.
The idea that, and I'm paraphrasing, we not
only put things in the wrong box, we also
change the wrong variable.
You look at some of these issues and it's
as if the common belief is that tires are
round by chance, glasses fit on our nose and
ears by nature and we didn't specifically
manufacture them in a way that makes sense.
In a way that works with as opposed to against
physics, chemistry, biology, reality.
If the car breaks down and the fact that the
engine overheated is beyond our comprehension,
we might just come up with the plan to make
tires square or pour energy drinks in the
tank or push the car for a mile and be surprised
when it didn't work as well as we hoped.
And, of course, we sure as hell won't be taking
any responsibility for mistakes made.
Because of the limitations of our understanding
and observation, we constantly simplify, leaving
important factors out of the equation.
We solve puzzles by squeezing pieces together
instead of searching for the right place to
put them.
They'll take some damage, sure, but it'll
fit, eventually.
From a distance no one will notice anyways,
... except that the end result, the bigger
picture won't be right.
That'll be another one of those unforeseen
circumstances fraudulent forecasters, advisors
and consultants, who should be driving Ubers
for a living, if that, keep mentioning.
Taleb challenges self-delusions that we dearly
hold on to and sometimes protect for lack
of a better judgement.
The difference is that some people, hopefully
like you and I, submit or rather change our
views or at the very least consider a different
perspective once there is enough evidence
to support an opposing view and/ or disprove
our side of the argument.
Others are unreachable.
Their stance is their stance.
No matter how weak, pathetic and unstable,
not withstanding the least bit of scrutiny,
they do not buckle.
This seems admirable from afar, but in truth
is atrocious when that person couldn't be
more wrong.
The most upsetting part is that innumerable
"Intellectual-Yet-Idiots" (IYIs) are in charge
who fit this description.
Taleb exposes their inconsistencies.
Here are seven of his topically diverse aphorisms,
from plenty that stood out to me, the first
one being "If you want to annoy a poet, explain
his poetry."
Thus, I will try to stick to visual interpretation
only.
- Academia is to knowledge what prostitution
is to love, close enough on the surface but,
to the nonsucker, not exactly the same thing.
Taleb elaborates in a footnote: There are
exceptions, but there are also many known
cases in which a prostitute falls in love
with a client.
(#notall)
- To be a philosopher is to know through long
walks, by reasoning only, a priori, what others
can only potentially learn from their mistakes,
crises, accidents, and bankruptcies - that
is, a posteriori.
- 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.
- You exist if and only if you are free to
do things without a visible objective, with
no justification and, above all, outside the
dictatorship of someone else's narrative.
- They will envy you for your success, for
your wealth, for your intelligence, for your
looks, for your status - but rarely for your
wisdom.
- If your anger decreases with time, you did
injustice; if it increases, you suffered injustice.
On that last note, don't ever complain about
me sounding angry or cursing too much on this
channel.
I have every reason to.
You are free to leave, if you don't like it.
I would have a million subscribers by now,
if I cared more about a quantity, rather than
a quality audience.
That being said I would rather that you stay.
Plato described Diogenes of Sinope as Socrates
gone mad.
Your miscomprehension of my benevolent fury
will push me over the edge and you will come
to know Diogenes gone mad.
Now, that's a name I want to live up to.
Follow Nassim Nicholas Taleb on twitter (@nntaleb)
& get the Bed of Procrustes, if you want to
challenge your intellect, potentially get
rid of delusions and for the inherent entertainment
value.
As always thanks for watching.
