Love this! I should definitely sit down and think about the decisions I make in life and see where I can take on more risk.
On upside potential, Taleb says that salaried employees almost never get a chance to take advantage of randomness in the world. But a taxi driver sometimes gets a passenger who is willing to pay a crazy amount of money to get somewhere quickly. I think the real life implication for us is - should we quit our jobs and become consultants instead?
Another interesting perspective on risk is that there are nuances to the limits of upside and downside.
For example, health is an area which NEVER has positive shocks, only negative shocks with unlimited downside. You never suddenly get diagnosed with something that increases your lifespan.
Agree, the asymmetry is super important and I think that is right about health (with the possible exceptions of things like Jhana or psychedelic treatment, which seems like they have the potential to have huge upside very quickly)
I think it comes down to what your own utility curves look like! For example, I work a salaried job, but right now I really like to not be stressed or think about money very much; I don't feel inclined to chase upside
Love this! I should definitely sit down and think about the decisions I make in life and see where I can take on more risk.
On upside potential, Taleb says that salaried employees almost never get a chance to take advantage of randomness in the world. But a taxi driver sometimes gets a passenger who is willing to pay a crazy amount of money to get somewhere quickly. I think the real life implication for us is - should we quit our jobs and become consultants instead?
Another interesting perspective on risk is that there are nuances to the limits of upside and downside.
For example, health is an area which NEVER has positive shocks, only negative shocks with unlimited downside. You never suddenly get diagnosed with something that increases your lifespan.
Agree, the asymmetry is super important and I think that is right about health (with the possible exceptions of things like Jhana or psychedelic treatment, which seems like they have the potential to have huge upside very quickly)
I think it comes down to what your own utility curves look like! For example, I work a salaried job, but right now I really like to not be stressed or think about money very much; I don't feel inclined to chase upside
I loved the table! Thank you for the insightful post.
Glad you enjoyed it!