--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: be. So I follow the Lindy effect as a…" description: "\"“be. So I follow the Lindy effect as a guide in selecting what to read: books that have been around for ten years will be around for ten more; books th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_book_be-so-i-follow-the-lindy-effect-as-a-gui_1613607.png" --- # be. So I follow the Lindy effect as a guide in selecting… ![“be. So I follow the Lindy effect as a guide in selecting what to read: books that have been around for ten years will be around for ten more; books that have been around for two millennia should be around for quite a bit of time, and so forth.” quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_book_be-so-i-follow-the-lindy-effect-as-a-gui_1613607.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_book_be-so-i-follow-the-lindy-effect-as-a-gui_1613607.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_book_be-so-i-follow-the-lindy-effect-as-a-gui_1613607.png) > ““be. So I follow the Lindy effect as a guide in selecting what to read: books that have been around for ten years will be around for ten more; books that have been around for two millennia should be around for quite a bit of time, and so forth.”” [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Lindy effect suggests that the longer a work has survived, the longer it is likely to endure, so choose enduring books. **In simple terms:** Old books tend to stay relevant longer. Key Takeaway Prefer timeless works. Themes longevity knowledge selection Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - library building - research - personal development - reading lists Key Concepts Lindy effect survival bias cultural persistence Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance classic wisdom with fresh perspectives? - What criteria beyond age could indicate lasting value? A Different Perspective May overlook newer, innovative ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“How have you kept yourself as yourself all these years? 'Books,' the boy said. 'Thousands of books.' 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One book per week translates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/if-you-read-one-hour-per-day-in-your-field-that-will-translate-into/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [“Later on, when you are older, you won't enjoy anything., then you'll say: 'I read that in books twenty years ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/later-on-when-you-are-older-you-won-t-enjoy-anything-then-you-ll-say/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [Do something every day to market each of your books for three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kremer/do-something-every-day-to-market-each-of-your-books-for-three-years/) [John Kremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kremer/) > [Well you know I've been fan of Tony Hillerman's books for years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carradine/well-you-know-i-ve-been-fan-of-tony-hillerman-s-books-for-years/) [Keith Carradine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carradine/) > [Brubaker and Phillipss books have always been about eight years ahead of their time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/brubaker-and-phillipss-books-have-always-been-about-eight-years-ahead/) [Brian K. 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Because it was in books that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/it-must-have-meant-something-though-that-at-this-turn-of-my-life-i/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [Well, it's so hard for books to take off. You give years of your life to something that probably won't happen, so when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/well-it-s-so-hard-for-books-to-take-off-you-give-years-of-your-life/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [My son and I discovered Terry Pratchett's books together, when he was about eleven years old. He'd be reading on his own and would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-sue-park/my-son-and-i-discovered-terry-pratchett-s-books-together-when-he-was/) [Linda Sue Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-sue-park/) ## More by Nassim Nicholas Taleb > [To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-become-a-philosopher-start-by-walking-very-slowly/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/wittgenstein-s-ruler-unless-you-have-confidence-in-the-ruler-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [My nightmare scenario is that the government saves Citibank once again, as well as the other banks, and business resumes as usual. 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Does it mean that the work involved in the trip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/one-needs-to-go-out-and-buy-a-lottery-ticket-in-order-to-win-does-it/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Individuals should think about the worst-case scenarios and plan for them. The world will be crazier than you think it will be. Put money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/individuals-should-think-about-the-worst-case-scenarios-and-plan-for/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“If you are looking for your misplaced wallet in your living room, in a trial and error mode, you exercise rationality by not looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/if-you-are-looking-for-your-misplaced-wallet-in-your-living-room-in-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Most humans manage to squander their free time, as free time makes them dysfunctional, lazy, and unmotivated—the busier they get, the more active they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/most-humans-manage-to-squander-their-free-time-as-free-time-makes/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We learn the most from fools ... yet we pay them back with the worst ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-learn-the-most-from-fools-yet-we-pay-them-back-with-the-worst/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We are victims of the post-Enlightenment view that the world functions like a sophisticated machine, to be understood like a textbook engineering problem and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-are-victims-of-the-post-enlightenment-view-that-the-world/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes aging, diabetes, and, for males, loss of fertility and sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/loss-of-bone-density-and-degradation-of-the-health-of-the-bones-also/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“It takes a huge investment in introspection to learn that the thirty or more hours spent “studying” the news last month neither had any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-takes-a-huge-investment-in-introspection-to-learn-that-the-thirty/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Explore all 635 Nassim Nicholas Taleb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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