The author Nassim Nicholas Taleb presents a bold new work that challenges long-held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance, and personal responsibility. In his most provocative and practical book, one of the most important thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, to succeed professionally, to contribute to a just society, and to influence others.

Quoting examples from Hammurabi to Seneca and from the giant Antaeus to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to accept the risks that come with one's share is an essential characteristic of heroes, saints, and successful individuals, regardless of their origins.

"Personal risk" is a phrase we often hear, but rarely take the time to examine thoroughly. It forms the backbone of risk management, as well as a remarkably rich worldview that, as Taleb demonstrates in this book, pertains to all aspects of our lives.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb took risks for twenty-one years before turning to research on philosophical, mathematical, and primarily (very) practical problems in the context of probability theory. Although he spends most of his time wandering, pondering in various cafés around the world, Taleb is a distinguished professor at the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University.

His books make up the multi-volume collection Incerto and have been translated into more than thirty-six languages. Taleb has published over fifty scientific articles supporting the ideas developed in Incerto, covering topics ranging from international affairs and risk management to statistical physics. He is described as "a rare combination of courage and erudition" and is recognized as the most important thinker in the theory of probability and uncertainty.

Taleb primarily resides in New York. Always maintaining the same accessible and iconoclastic style, Taleb challenges long-held beliefs about the values of those who lead military interventions, make financial investments, and disseminate religious beliefs.

Some of his ideas: Social justice requires focusing on symmetry and risk-sharing. You cannot reap the profits while shifting the risks onto others, as bankers and large corporations do. You cannot become wealthy without taking on the risks that are rightfully yours and paying the corresponding price. Enforcing the personal risk corrects this asymmetry better than thousands of laws and regulations.

Ethical rules are not universal. You are part of a group larger than yourself but smaller than humanity. In the world, minorities hold power, not majorities. In the world, it is not the general consensus that rules, but the uncompromising minorities that impose their preferences and morals on others.

You may be an intellectual, but still remain foolish. The "educated Philistines" have been wrong about everything from Stalinism and Iraq to low-carb diets. Beware of complex solutions (that someone was paid to find). A simple weight bench can build more muscle than modern, expensive gym equipment.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb is an essayist who primarily deals with issues of uncertainty and knowledge. Specializing in the risks of unpredictable rare events ("black swans"), he worked in senior positions in New York and London before founding Empirica LLC, a brokerage firm and research lab for risk. Taleb also teaches at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.