Fragility is the quality of things that are vulnerable to volatility.
Nassim Nicholas TalebRead
Nobody reads the disclosures that roll down your computer screen. You click 'I agree' but you don't know what you're agreeing to.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the tendency to agree to terms without understanding their implications.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb points out the common practice of users quickly accepting digital disclosures and terms of service without actually reading or comprehending the content. This behavior raises concerns about the transparency and responsibility of tech companies, as individuals often relinquish their rights and privacy unknowingly, becoming vulnerable to unfavorable conditions set forth in these agreements.
Themes
DisclosuresPrivacyAgreementTechnologyAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
During a tech conference, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of understanding digital consent.
More from Nassim Nicholas Taleb
All quotes βThose who were unlucky in life in spite of their skills would eventually rise. The lucky fool might have benefited from some luck in life; over the longer run he would slowly converge to the state of a less-lucky idiot. Each one would revert to his long-term properties.
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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 away, and then you can live with much more freedom.
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A good maxim allows you to have the last word without even starting a conversation.
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A Stoic is someone who transforms fear into prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation, and desire into undertaking.
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They think that intelligence is about noticing things are relevant (detecting patterns); in a complex world, intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant (avoiding false patterns)
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I was in Bangalore, India, the Silicon Valley of India, when I realized that the world was flat.
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What we believe, endorse, agree with, and depend on is representable and, increasingly, represented on the Web. We all have to ensure that the society we build with the Web is the sort we intend.
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