The Black Swan Archives

Counterintuitive: (Some) volatility is good for you, stability not so much

December 15, 2020August 23, 2015 by Kurt Cobb

A certain amount of volatility is good for humans and the systems they build. Attempts to stifle the natural and healthy volatility of a system can lead to greater and even catastrophic volatility in the end.

Bad advice: Why the future won’t be like the past

December 15, 2020October 13, 2013 by Kurt Cobb

It’s easy to get bad advice from successful people. Here’s why: Successful people assume that the same circumstances that prevailed while they were achieving their success will generally prevail while you are pursuing yours.