Body Quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“As countries get rich they start increasing education and the very educated people tend to not like trial and error, because they think they're obligated to use the body of knowledge they have.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Antifragile, 2012
Prosperity leads educated to distrust trial‑and‑error, preferring established knowledge over experimentation.
In simple terms: Rich societies avoid learning by doing.
Key Takeaway
Balance theory with practical experimentation.
Themes
education
risk
innovation
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
philosophical
motivational
When to use this quote
- policy making
- business strategy
- personal skill development
Key Concepts
antifragility
cognitive bias
learning curves
Questions to Reflect On
- When have you ignored intuition for data?
- How can you re‑introduce trial and error?
A Different Perspective
Over‑reliance on theory can stifle adaptability.
![“I'm very skeptical of the amount of money that goes into military expenditure, not just in the poor countries [but] also in the rich. I think it's one of the most massive wastes in the world, but education is [at the] other end. It's the bearer of the greatest fruits that mankind has ever known.” quote by Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/16a/amartya-sen-2518_amount_i-m-very-skeptical-of-the-amount-of-mone_685148.jpg)
![“I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests with ZERO-G [a charter-flight service in Arlington, Va., that uses modified Boeing 727s to simulate weightlessness], which went great.” quote by Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aa1/richard-branson-256_adventure_i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-repl_903.jpg)
