Black Swans: Stories

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What stands out about Babitz's writing is her voice: smart, unapologetic and knowing, like Dorothy Parker magically time traveling to the modern era . . . Rereading Babitz is a delicious, guilty pleasure." — Alta Events are unexplainable , but intelligent people are good at making explanations. The smarter they are, the better sounding the explanation. What’s more worrisome is that all these beliefs and accounts appeared to be logically coherent and devoid of inconsistencies. Any reduction in the world around us can have explosive consequences since it rules out some sources of uncertainty. You may think that Islam is your ally against the threat of communism, until they fly two planes into New York. Nassim Nicholas Taleb is working the same territory as Daniel Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow. While they both have us investigating our thinking, for Kahneman, it's to make us own up, while Taleb has more direct emphasis on avoiding disaster. This read like if Kit from Pretty Woman, or ummm Vivian, played by Julia Robert’s character in the film, wrote stories of their lives and their friends before she meets Richard Gere and goes nowhere. Taleb also references numerous thinkers that are not as well known in the popular consciousness and provides wonderful anecdotes and examples from their life and work that illustrate his points and entertain the reader.

They compel human beings to explain why they happened—to show, after the fact, that they were indeed predictable. Here I am, on a beach in Greece, trying to put my thoughts together about this book, which I have enjoyed more than I expected, but at the same time, annoyed me here and there with the writing, which is all over the place. Collins, Bryan (August 23, 2018). "Why You Should Prepare For Disaster (And How To Do It)". Forbes . Retrieved December 20, 2020. With the rapid advance of technology—computer chips, cellular networks, the Internet—it stands to reason that our predictive capabilities too are advancing. But consider how few of these groundbreaking advances in technology were themselves predicted. For example, no one predicted the Internet, and it was more or less ignored when it was created.There is no question here, Taleb is an erudite and intelligent scholar. His take on epistomology and the scientific method breathe fresh air into the subject and gloss it with some 21st century context. She’s a natural. Or gives every appearance of being one, her writing elevated yet slangy, bright, bouncy, cheerfully hedonistic—L.A. in it purest, most idealized form." — Vanity Fair For millennia, it was universally accepted that all swans were white. In fact, this truth was so incontrovertible that logicians would often use it to illustrate the process of deductive reasoning. That classic deduction went like this:

We concentrate on things we already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what we don’t know. We are, therefore, unable to truly estimate opportunities, too vulnerable to the impulse to simplify, narrate, and categorize, and not open enough to rewarding those who can imagine the “impossible.” We are social animals" - how true is this statement! I never realized this until I worked more than a year from home. I have always considered myself somewhat antisocial, but I was proved wrong. When I returned to the office, I felt like I was in vacation, and this feeling didn't left me yet. And I don't have problems at home, it's just that I never realize how much I missed my colleagues, friends, our jokes and interactions. Above statement has a continuation: "hell is other people" - also true, but some of them can be heaven too: a sparkling conversation, a good joke, a meaninful look, a kind gesture, a shared moment - all these can make someone feel good for a long time. Salmon, Felix (August 23, 2009). "The Flaw of Averages". Reuters blogs. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009 . Retrieved December 20, 2020.

And, in spite of all the plights and the nasty people, Eve Babtiz has always envisioned life like a tango (“Tangoland”). After all, we just can’t turn to mush, we cannot leave, we must stay and resist. I had this constant feeling like Babitz was this older and wiser sister, teaching and revealing me the amazing secrets of life. She doesn’t mind rottenness and impoliteness. She thrives on that and transforms it into beauty, into experience, into learning, into literature, into art.

The subject of these nine stories by Babitz ( Sex and Rage) is Hollywood: brilliant and beautiful couples who somehow get along; charming yet moody men and their odd needs; and “Eve,” the narrator, who cautiously reveals in herself the vices of a naughty but not really bad girl.”— Publishers Weekly I don’t know how I feel about “the writer” being involved in the observation. Observing themselves in the observation of an event/making both things the focus? It’s a unique writing style apparently popularized by Didion. However, as I’m reading The White Album right now — I just feel like give me the goods, I don’t wanna hear about what you were doing at the same time. Just tell me that story or tell me yours. My brain is tired and I can’t do no mo’! Easterbrook, Gregg (April 22, 2007). "Possibly Maybe". The New York Times . Retrieved December 20, 2020. As exemplified by figures like Beyoncé and Jeff Bezos, social and economic advantages accrue highly unequally in Extremistan.

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Her articles and short stories have appeared in Rolling Stone, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Esquire magazines. She is the author of several books including Eve's Hollywood; Slow Days, Fast Company; Sex and Rage; Two By Two; and L.A. Woman. Transitioning to her particular blend of fiction and memoir beginning with Eve's Hollywood, Babitz’s writing of this period is indelibly marked by the cultural scene of Los Angeles during that time, with numerous references and interactions to the artists, musicians, writers, actors, and sundry other iconic figures that made up the scene in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. A turkey is fed every single day, firming up the bird’s belief that is the general rule of life to be provided sustenance by friendly family members of the human race. On the afternoon before the Wednesday of thanks giving… Something unexpected will happen to the turkey: it will incur a revision of belief. After 1000 days of being fed, and the expectation of being fed growing with each meal: on day 1001 he gets killed and eaten for the thanksgiving dinner. The third chapter introduces the concepts of Extremistan and Mediocristan. [11] He uses them as guides to define the predictability of the environment one is studying. Mediocristan environments can safely use Gaussian distribution. In Extremistan environments, a Gaussian distribution should be used at one's own peril. [12] In this part he quotes Benoit Mandelbrot and his critique of the Gaussian distribution. [13] [ unreliable source?] This review will be comprised of two parts: a review of the ideas presented and a review of the way in which it is written