{
  "type": "quote",
  "site": {
    "name": "Leafy Quotes",
    "language": "en",
    "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com"
  },
  "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.",
  "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/fooled-by-randomness/the-major-problem",
  "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/fooled-by-randomness/the-major-problem.json",
  "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/fooled-by-randomness/the-major-problem.md",
  "id": "57cf2364-3729-42b1-b6ab-ffda6bfb8d22",
  "slug": "the-major-problem",
  "text": "The major problem with inference... is that those whose profession it is to derive conclusions from data often fall into the trap faster and more confidently... The more data we have, the more likely we are to drown in it. For common wisdom... is to base... decision making on the following principle: It is very unlikely for someone to perform... well in a consistent fashion without doing something right. ...[I]f someone performed better... in the past then there is a great[er] chance of performing better than the crowd in the future... But... [a] small knowledge of probability can lead to worse results than no knowledge at all.",
  "language": "en",
  "author": {
    "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb",
    "slug": "nassim-nicholas-taleb",
    "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb"
  },
  "book": {
    "title": "Fooled by Randomness",
    "slug": "fooled-by-randomness",
    "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/fooled-by-randomness"
  },
  "character": null,
  "chapter": null,
  "chapter_parent": null,
  "page": null,
  "verified": false,
  "original": null,
  "other_languages": [],
  "topics": [
    {
      "name": "knowledge",
      "slug": "knowledge",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge"
    },
    {
      "name": "mistakes",
      "slug": "mistakes",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/mistakes"
    }
  ],
  "source": {
    "name": "Wikiquote",
    "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb#Fooled_by_Randomness_(2001)",
    "license": {
      "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
      "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
    }
  },
  "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:31",
  "more_from_book": [
    {
      "id": "fa0183e1-3031-4649-b16b-a0bdb9e76e3e",
      "slug": "b-ecoming-more-rational",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/fooled-by-randomness/b-ecoming-more-rational",
      "text": "[B]ecoming more rational, or not feeling the emotions of social slights, is not part of the human race... not with our current biology. There is no solace to be found from reasoning...",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "reason",
          "slug": "reason",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/reason"
        },
        {
          "name": "emotions",
          "slug": "emotions",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/emotions"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb#Fooled_by_Randomness_(2001)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:31"
    },
    {
      "id": "f78b4ce4-e9fe-4327-9d94-5a50e0261f7e",
      "slug": "a-mistake-is-not",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/fooled-by-randomness/a-mistake-is-not",
      "text": "A mistake is not something to be determined after the fact, but in the light of the information until that point.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "choices",
          "slug": "choices",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices"
        },
        {
          "name": "mistakes",
          "slug": "mistakes",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/mistakes"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb#Fooled_by_Randomness_(2001)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:31"
    },
    {
      "id": "f50a5cc7-03a5-4250-86f9-7165dfc0d50f",
      "slug": "many-scientists-are",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/fooled-by-randomness/many-scientists-are",
      "text": "Many scientists... are... subject to such foolishness... One flagrant example is... global warming... These scientists initially ignored the fact that these [high temperature] spikes, although rare, had the effect of adding disproportionately to the cumulative melting of the ice caps. ...[A]n event, although rare, that brings large consequences cannot be ignored.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "science",
          "slug": "science",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/science"
        },
        {
          "name": "ecology",
          "slug": "ecology",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ecology"
        },
        {
          "name": "risk",
          "slug": "risk",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/risk"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb#Fooled_by_Randomness_(2001)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:31"
    }
  ]
}
