A review by inquiry_from_an_anti_library
Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

3.0

Is This An Overview?

Skin in the game is outcome symmetry of decisions.  A symmetry of the benefits and harm derived from a decision.  Skin in the game within a transaction means having no asymmetric uncertainty.  Skin in the game is about taking risk, rather than transferring the risk.  Advice that benefits the individual and the adviser, without the adviser sharing the harm, is bad advice.  Those who make decisions without suffering negative repercussions of being wrong, continue making bad decisions.  Alternatively, being accountable for errors of decisions, makes people learn from their mistakes and improve their decision making.

 

Caveats?

Although the ambiguity of language is understood, the use of language in the book creates more negative consequences than benefits.  Harsh language is being used throughout the book, which is partly meant to give people skin in the game who have not taken responsibility for wrong decisions, and also to signal freedom.  The consequences of the harsh language can be 1) to make society more intolerant given the influence of the author, 2) possibly enable a fundamental attribution bias for dynamic decisions are rarely made by a single person but who then becomes a scapegoat for others, and 3) make people defensive which prevents learning. 

 

The focus of skin in the game is about those who are making wrong decisions without facing the negative consequences, but as the author recognizes, there have been those who perished even though they were right.  Its uncertain if the author has skin in the game with the advice given about using skin in the game to improve situations.