The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- ISBN：1400069971
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Summary
The Bed of Procrustes is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series， an investigation of opacity， luck， uncertainty， probability， human error， risk， and decision-making in a world we don’t understand。 The other books in the series are Fooled by Randomness， The Black Swan， and Antifragile。
By the author of the modern classic The Black Swan， this collection of aphorisms and meditations expresses his major ideas in ways you least expect。
The Bed of Procrustes takes its title from Greek mythology: the story of a man who made his visitors fit his bed to perfection by either stretching them or cutting their limbs。 It represents Taleb’s view of modern civilization’s hubristic side effects—modifying humans to satisfy technology， blaming reality for not fitting economic models， inventing diseases to sell drugs， defining intelligence as what can be tested in a classroom， and convincing people that employment is not slavery。
Playful and irreverent， these aphorisms will surprise you by exposing self-delusions you have been living with but never recognized。
With a rare combination of pointed wit and potent wisdom， Taleb plows through human illusions， contrasting the classical values of courage， elegance， and erudition against the modern diseases of nerdiness， philistinism， and phoniness。
By the author of the modern classic The Black Swan， this collection of aphorisms and meditations expresses his major ideas in ways you least expect。
The Bed of Procrustes takes its title from Greek mythology: the story of a man who made his visitors fit his bed to perfection by either stretching them or cutting their limbs。 It represents Taleb’s view of modern civilization’s hubristic side effects—modifying humans to satisfy technology， blaming reality for not fitting economic models， inventing diseases to sell drugs， defining intelligence as what can be tested in a classroom， and convincing people that employment is not slavery。
Playful and irreverent， these aphorisms will surprise you by exposing self-delusions you have been living with but never recognized。
With a rare combination of pointed wit and potent wisdom， Taleb plows through human illusions， contrasting the classical values of courage， elegance， and erudition against the modern diseases of nerdiness， philistinism， and phoniness。
Reviews
Diego Rodriguez
，
Great
George Tan
，
this is the first book i’ve ever read of Taleb’serm。。 itsone of those books where the author thinks the world’s shit and he’s better than everybody
Redowan Delowar
，
Bed of Procrustes is probably the most accessible book of Nassim Taleb's incerto series and a great entry point if you're planning to dive into his work。It's an aggregation of aphorisms that spans across—technology， academia， religion， psychology， culture， social and ethical decadence。 The satirical tone of the book makes it a lightweight but extremely enjoyable read。 Finished it in a single afternoon and I intend to come back to it again。 Some of my favorite aphorisms from the book are:* People Bed of Procrustes is probably the most accessible book of Nassim Taleb's incerto series and a great entry point if you're planning to dive into his work。It's an aggregation of aphorisms that spans across—technology， academia， religion， psychology， culture， social and ethical decadence。 The satirical tone of the book makes it a lightweight but extremely enjoyable read。 Finished it in a single afternoon and I intend to come back to it again。 Some of my favorite aphorisms from the book are:* People are so prone to overcausation that you can make the reticent turn loquacious by dropping an occasional “why？” in the conversation。* Technology can degrade （and endanger） every aspect of a sucker’s life while convincing him that it is becoming more “efficient。”* It’s much harder to write a book review for a book you’ve read than for a book you haven’t read。* Just as no monkey is as good-looking as the ugliest of humans， no academic is worthier than the worst of the creators。* To be a philosopher is to know through long walks， by reasoning， and reasoning only， a priori， what others can only potentially learn from their mistakes， crises， accidents， and bankruptcies—that is， a posteriori。 。。。more
Yijia Chen
，
Proclaimed wisdom for the mass without exposing the thought foundations is the best way to kill first-principle thinking， in my humble opinion。 This book does just that。There are so many plausible yet in fact controversial， or even flat-wrong， arguments， yet by making the book seem really smart， the author closes the door for thinking and debate。Taleb is a brilliant author with some other books I really enjoy， so I’ll just hope that he refrains from this type of books again。
Argos
，
Yazar “etkili fikirleri bir avuç sözcüğe sığdırma yeteneğindeki bir cesaret gösterisi” olarak tanımladığı “aforizmaları” birkaç başlık altında toplamış， ağırlıklı olarak felsefi sözler。 Platon aşkı ve “fahişelik” takıntısının yanında çok sığ geldi bana kendince aforizma dediği düşünceleri。 Güvendiğim bir kaynaktan görüp okudum ama vakit kaybı oldu。。
Justin Norman
，
Not sure I’ve read an author whose work I have such strongly mixed feelings as Taleb。 This book is interesting but it’s a pretty mixed bag。 The aphorisms here range from thought provoking analogies and contrasts to tired cliches。 Much of it is repetitive as well。 Whether or not you agree with him， it only takes a few instances of Taleb comparing employees to slaves before you’re ready for him to move on。 The book is short， so there isn’t much of a time commitment， and there’s enough here to be w Not sure I’ve read an author whose work I have such strongly mixed feelings as Taleb。 This book is interesting but it’s a pretty mixed bag。 The aphorisms here range from thought provoking analogies and contrasts to tired cliches。 Much of it is repetitive as well。 Whether or not you agree with him， it only takes a few instances of Taleb comparing employees to slaves before you’re ready for him to move on。 The book is short， so there isn’t much of a time commitment， and there’s enough here to be worth the read。 。。。more
Connor Lynch
，
I like Taleb's humour often， his cynicism about the modern world， and I think it's sometimes well placed， but for someone who constantly sneers at the gullibility of other people to illusions and systems and biases， he constantly generalises about everything， with bizarre beliefs about friendship and medicine which seem very specific to his psychology。 I get the impression that Taleb might be the worst pupil in the world， and considering that he isn't the best and brightest in the world in every I like Taleb's humour often， his cynicism about the modern world， and I think it's sometimes well placed， but for someone who constantly sneers at the gullibility of other people to illusions and systems and biases， he constantly generalises about everything， with bizarre beliefs about friendship and medicine which seem very specific to his psychology。 I get the impression that Taleb might be the worst pupil in the world， and considering that he isn't the best and brightest in the world in every field， this makes him come across terribly arrogant and macho， especially considering his obsession with "losers" and "suckers"， which isn't a common trait among likeable people， and more importantly doesn't lend itself to an interesting or useful worldview。 。。。more
Bastard Travel
，
A dour genius epigrammatically berates everyone for the kneecapping of specialization， their proclivity for self-delusion， and their cowardly refusal to aspire to Classicism。 He dunks on academics， economists， and other "nerds" consistently and relentlessly， despite his being a paunchy mathematician。 This is the Enchiridion， if Epictetus had read the 48 Laws of Power。Based。 A dour genius epigrammatically berates everyone for the kneecapping of specialization， their proclivity for self-delusion， and their cowardly refusal to aspire to Classicism。 He dunks on academics， economists， and other "nerds" consistently and relentlessly， despite his being a paunchy mathematician。 This is the Enchiridion， if Epictetus had read the 48 Laws of Power。Based。 。。。more
Varapanyo Bhikkhu
，
Every aphorism here is about a Procrustean bed of sorts—we humans， facing limits of knowledge， and things we do not observe， the unseen and the unknown， resolve the tension by squeezing life and the world into crisp commoditized ideas， reductive categories， specific vocabularies， and prepackaged narratives， which， on the occasion， has explosive consequences。 Further， we seem unaware of this backward fitting， much like tailors who take great pride in delivering the perfectly fitting suit—but do s Every aphorism here is about a Procrustean bed of sorts—we humans， facing limits of knowledge， and things we do not observe， the unseen and the unknown， resolve the tension by squeezing life and the world into crisp commoditized ideas， reductive categories， specific vocabularies， and prepackaged narratives， which， on the occasion， has explosive consequences。 Further， we seem unaware of this backward fitting， much like tailors who take great pride in delivering the perfectly fitting suit—but do so by surgically altering the limbs of their customers。 For instance， few realize that we are changing the brains of schoolchildren through medication in order to make them adjust to the curriculum， rather than the reverse。Since aphorisms lose their charm whenever explained， I only hint for now at the central theme of this book—I relegate further discussions to the postface。 。。。My use of the metaphor of the Procrustes bed isn’t just about putting something in the wrong box; it’s mostly that inverse operation of changing the wrong variable， here the person rather than the bed。 Note that every failure of what we call “wisdom” （coupled with technical proficiency） can be reduced to a Procrustean bed situation。*Selected aphorisms:The traits I respect are erudition and the courage to stand up when half-men are afraid for their reputation。 Any idiot can be intelligent。*Leisure / Work *What fools call “wasting time” is most often the best investment。 *For the classics， philosophical insight was the product of a life of leisure; for me， a life of leisure is the product of philosophical insight。*Work destroys your soul by stealthily invading your brain during the hours not officially spent working; be selective about professions。*Only in recent history has “working hard” signaled pride rather than shame for lack of talent， finesse， and， mostly， sprezzatura。*Their idea of the sabbatical is to work six days and rest for one; my idea of the sabbatical is to work for （part of） a day and rest for six。*For most， work and what comes with it have the eroding effect of chronic injury。*Just as smooth surfaces， competitive sports， and specialized work fossilize mind and body， competitive academia fossilizes the soul。*By setting oneself totally free of constraints， free of thoughts， free of this debilitating activity called work， free of efforts， elements hidden in the texture of reality start staring at you; then mysteries that you never thought existed emerge in front of your eyes。*There is no intermediate state between ice and water but there is one between life and death: employment。*Those who do not think that employment is systemic slavery are either blind or employed。***Education makes the wise slightly wiser， but it makes the fool vastly more dangerous。 *To bankrupt a fool， give him information。 *I suspect that they put Socrates to death because there is something terribly unattractive， alienating， and nonhuman in thinking with too much clarity。*An erudite is someone who displays less than he knows; a journalist or consultant， the opposite。*Don’t talk about “progress” in terms of longevity， safety， or comfort before comparing zoo animals to those in the wilderness。*Most of what they call humility is successfully disguised arrogance。*Usually， what we call a “good listener” is someone with skillfully polished indifference。*Some people are only funny when they try to be serious。*It is a very recent disease to mistake the unobserved for the nonexistent; but some are plagued with the worse disease of mistaking the unobserved for the unobservable。*Asking science to explain life and vital matters is equivalent to asking a grammarian to explain poetry。*You exist if and only if you are free to do things without a visible objective， with no justification and， above all， outside the dictatorship of someone else’s narrative。*You don’t become completely free by just avoiding to be a slave; you also need to avoid becoming a master。*Karl Marx， a visionary， figured out that you can control a slave much better by convincing him he is an employee。*People focus on role models; it is more effective to find antimodels—people you don’t want to resemble when you grow up。*There are two types of people: those who try to win and those who try to win arguments。 They are never the same。*For so many， instead of looking for “cause of death” when they expire， we should be looking for “cause of life” when they are still around。*Newspaper readers exposed to real prose are like deaf persons at a Puccini opera: they may like a thing or two while wondering， “what’s the point？”*The calamity of the information age is that the toxicity of data increases much faster than its benefits。*My biggest problem with modernity may lie in the growing separation of the ethical and the legal。*You can only convince people who think they can benefit from being convinced。*Greatness starts with the replacement of hatred with polite disdain。*Weak men act to satisfy their needs， stronger men their duties。*Ethical man accords his profession to his beliefs， instead of according his beliefs to his profession。 This has been rarer and rarer since the Middle Ages。*People often need to suspend their self-promotion， and have someone in their lives they do not need to impress。 This explains dog ownership。*Games were created to give nonheroes the illusion of winning。 In real life， you don’t know who really won or lost （except too late）， but you can tell who is heroic and who is not。*They think that intelligence is about noticing things that are relevant （detecting patterns）; in a complex world， intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant （avoiding false patterns）。*The ideal trivium education， and the least harmful one to society and pupils， would be mathematics， logic， and Latin; a double dose of Latin authors to compensate for the severe loss of wisdom that comes from mathematics; just enough mathematics and logic to control verbiage and rhetoric。*There are designations， like “economist，” “prostitute，” or “consultant，” for which additional characterization doesn’t add information。*The only definition of an alpha male: if you try to be an alpha male， you will never be one。A mathematician starts with a problem and creates a solution; a consultant starts by offering a “solution” and creates a problem。*The classical man’s worst fear was inglorious death; the modern man’s worst fear is just death。 。。。more
Eduardo Medina
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Aforismos provocadores sobre el saber， la religión， la academia， la economía y otros conceptos。 El autor siempre es un reto， provoca reflexión。
Nathaniel Westermann
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Interesting food for thought。 I'd recommend it for bored academics looking for something to ponder。 This is a clear example of Taleb phoning one in， yet it retains the same brilliance as everything else in his oeuvre。 Interesting food for thought。 I'd recommend it for bored academics looking for something to ponder。 This is a clear example of Taleb phoning one in， yet it retains the same brilliance as everything else in his oeuvre。 。。。more
Julia
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A legend！ I'm taking notes。 A legend！ I'm taking notes。 。。。more
Aaron Sanstrum
，
going onto the regular reread wisdom stack on my bookcase。 good stuff。 read slowly 。。。 slower than I did this time。
Adam Georgiou
，
Not a book you really finish so much as continuously loop through。 First loop complete。
Zac Stojcevski
，
Finally NN Taleb finds a way to disappoint me。 The aphorisms I thought would be open to discussion and expansion akin to the famed walk/talks of Khaneman and Tversky。 No。 Just there。 In your face because NNT said making this volume of his read like the italicised quotes and aphorisms contained as space fillers at the end of Readers Digest stories。 Of all his works， this stood out for what it didn’t give vs what it did。
Nini
，
This is super short （2 hrs audiobook）。 A collection of interesting aphorism。 I found them annoyingly true and enjoyable at the same time。 I havent read other Taleb's book。 I think I'll pick up one after this。 This is super short （2 hrs audiobook）。 A collection of interesting aphorism。 I found them annoyingly true and enjoyable at the same time。 I havent read other Taleb's book。 I think I'll pick up one after this。 。。。more
Job Stekelenburg
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Nogmaals lezen na lezen volledige Incerto reeks。
Martin Ambos
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Great collection of aphorisms and sayings！ Will return to it definitely in the future！
Harry Lee
，
How to say this？ I feel pleasure， reading this and kept going。
anonymousreader
，
to-read
Adiba Amil
，
"Every aphorism here is about a Procrustean bed of sorts— we humans， facing limits of knowledge， and things we do not observe， the unseen and the unknown， resolve the tension by squeezing life and the world into crisp commoditized ideas， reductive categories， specific vocabularies， and prepackaged narratives， which， on the occasion， has explosive consequences。"Although some aphorisms I found to be hugely arbitrary and outside the bounds of my limited sensibilities and comprehension， I greatly en "Every aphorism here is about a Procrustean bed of sorts— we humans， facing limits of knowledge， and things we do not observe， the unseen and the unknown， resolve the tension by squeezing life and the world into crisp commoditized ideas， reductive categories， specific vocabularies， and prepackaged narratives， which， on the occasion， has explosive consequences。"Although some aphorisms I found to be hugely arbitrary and outside the bounds of my limited sensibilities and comprehension， I greatly enjoyed most of them。Some of them I'll list here:-In nature we never repeat the same motion; in captivity （office， gym， commute， sports）， life is just repetitive-stress injury。 No randomness。-Asking science to explain life and vital matters is equivalent to asking a grammarian to explain poetry。-If you know， in the morning， what your day looks like with any precision， you are a little bit dead— the more precision， the more dead you are。-Usually， what we call a “good listener” is someone with skillfully polished indifference。-Wisdom in the young is as unattractive as frivolity in the elderly。-It is a very recent disease to mistake the unobserved for the nonexistent; but some are plagued with the worse disease of mistaking the unobserved for the unobservable。-You exist if and only if you are free to do things without a visible objective， with no justification and， above all， outside the dictatorship of someone else’s narrative。-The sacred is all about unconditionals; the profane is all about conditionals。-After a long diet from the media， I came to realize that there is nothing that’s not （clumsily） trying to sell you something。 I only trust my library。- Modernity needs to understand that being rich and becoming rich are not mathematically， personally， socially， and ethically the same thing。-Read nothing from the past one hundred years-You will be civilized on the day you can spend a long period doing nothing， learning nothing， and improving nothing， without feeling the slightest amount of guilt。-– The difference between slaves in Roman and Ottoman days and today’s employees is that slaves did not need to flatter their boss。-People focus on role models; it is more effective to find antimodels— people you don’t want to resemble when you grow up。-There are two types of people: those who try to win and those who try to win arguments。 They are never the same。-For so many， instead of looking for “cause of death” when they expire， we should be looking for “cause of life” when they are still around。-– If you need to listen to music while walking， don’t walk; and please don’t listen to music。-The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free。-You have a real life if and only if you do not compete with anyone in any of your pursuits。Will love to read this in about 5 more years to see what I make out of it then。 。。。more
David Hunter
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A short book of aphorisms。 Several interesting ideas in here， but I am much more excited to read his next book， Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder。 A short book of aphorisms。 Several interesting ideas in here， but I am much more excited to read his next book， Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder。 。。。more
Colin
，
NNT broken up into single sentences or short paragraphs。 Lays out a lot of themes that he fleshes out in more detail in his later works。 Some good observations here， and written in a format that forces the author to distill profundity down to a minimal word count with the hopes of maximizing the thoughtfulness to wordiness ratio。 I enjoyed this and intend to reread it periodically over time - I sped through it against the author's advice and would like in the future to review at a slower pace an NNT broken up into single sentences or short paragraphs。 Lays out a lot of themes that he fleshes out in more detail in his later works。 Some good observations here， and written in a format that forces the author to distill profundity down to a minimal word count with the hopes of maximizing the thoughtfulness to wordiness ratio。 I enjoyed this and intend to reread it periodically over time - I sped through it against the author's advice and would like in the future to review at a slower pace and more time allocated to contemplation。 A good intro to NNT's work。 。。。more
Mujahid Khan
，
Sharp， biting， incisive。 Beautiful short aphorisms。 It couldn't live up to the legacy of aphorisms by Cioran but still a close runner-up。 Sharp， biting， incisive。 Beautiful short aphorisms。 It couldn't live up to the legacy of aphorisms by Cioran but still a close runner-up。 。。。more
Daniel Ottenwalder
，
Reads like poor Richard almanac for the 21st century
Feil Fernandez
，
Que gran aprendizaje es leer a Taleb， mas con su forma particular de ayudar a abrir la mente y desarrollar criterio con lo que expone， no a imponer un conocimiento o perspectiva。
Vladimir
，
Aphorisms… from my understanding need to stand the test of time to be real。 Some here make sense， some make you think about them and then some seem to be quite personal to Taleb’s perception of the world。 It was interesting to read a whole collection of this different form of “wisdom” and Taleb has no low opinion of himself and his ability to see more than the rest。 At least he does not hide his arrogance。 Not sure I got much of this book even though I made point in reading it slowly and in smal Aphorisms… from my understanding need to stand the test of time to be real。 Some here make sense， some make you think about them and then some seem to be quite personal to Taleb’s perception of the world。 It was interesting to read a whole collection of this different form of “wisdom” and Taleb has no low opinion of himself and his ability to see more than the rest。 At least he does not hide his arrogance。 Not sure I got much of this book even though I made point in reading it slowly and in small pieces。 。。。more
Xusto Rodríguez
，
Agardaba moito máis desta colección de aforismos。Entre unha chea deles que me pareceron simples， evidentes ou sen graza aparecía algún que tiña faíscas de inxenio， que despertaba a sorpresa ou que levaba a reflexións que se saían dos carreiros xa tripados。Pero eran fabas contadas。E todo iso contado desde un ton de suficiencia que supuraba unha superioridade moral que。。。 mi madriña！O intelectual mirando o mundo desde a súa atalaia con ningunha empatía e un ego tamaño familiar。
Emre Bey
，
A book to read multiple times
Surbhi S
，