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Work #707 · Late

The Black Swan

Nassim Nicholas Taleb
2007 · English
Philosophy of randomness / probability · Lebanese-American philosophy of randomness

Taleb's 2007 foundational text — "Black Swan" rare-events, the limits of statistical prediction

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Black Swan (Late)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Experience
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Black Swan

The historical time of rare high-impact events.

Space

The Black Swan

The power-law Extremistan reality.

Matter

The Black Swan

The material world subject to power-law dynamics.

Observer

The Black Swan

The epistemically-humble Black-Swan-aware observer.

Energy

The Black Swan

Energies of high-impact rare events.

Information

The Black Swan

Foundational uncertainty-and-risk framework.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Black Swan

Taleb's Black Swan foundational for contemporary thinking about uncertainty and tail risk.