The Black Swan

This book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb has been genuinely recommended 3 times across 2 different shows: Lex Fridman, Tim Ferriss. The people who vouched for it on air: Tim Ferriss, guest. It comes up in conversations about anxiety & stress, consciousness, depression & mood, exercise & strength, productivity & performance. The earliest recommendation we indexed is from Aug 2020 and the most recent from Dec 2021. Every quote below is verbatim, attributed, and linked to the exact second it was said. Sourced expert opinion, not medical advice.

From the critically acclaimed author of Fooled by Randomness, a book about the impact of improbable events on every aspect of life.

• “Antifragile, Fooled by Randomness, and The Black Swan... I found all of them to be very thought-provoking, and worth reading, and I don't say that lightly”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “I found all of them to be very thought-provoking, and worth reading, and I don't say that lightly”
  Tim Ferriss · The Tim Ferriss Show · Dec 202101:19:25

  Said during "Q&A with Tim, Tools for Better Sleep, Parenting, Fear, How to Boost Your Mood, and More". The episode features Tim Ferriss: Author of The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and Tools of Titans, and host of The Tim Ferriss Show. This is a solo Q&A episode where he both asks and answers, fielding live-chat and pre-submitted listener questions. Tim Ferriss answers live and submitted Q&A on sleep, parenting, fear, mood, psychedelics, learning, and travel.

• “I think Taleb and Black Swan, Fooled by Randomness, read those books. Just start to read Fooled by Randomness and Black Swan”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “read those books. Just start to read Fooled by Randomness and Black Swan”
  Tim Ferriss · The Tim Ferriss Show · Feb 202101:12:43

  Said during "Josh Waitzkin - The Cave Process, Advice from Future Selves, and More | The Tim Ferriss Show". The episode features Josh Waitzkin: Author of The Art of Learning, eight-time US national chess champion, two-time Tai Chi push hands world champion, and the first BJJ black belt under Marcelo Garcia. He now trains elite mental performers and runs The Art of Learning Project nonprofit. Josh Waitzkin turns the tables on Tim Ferriss, probing gating questions, the entanglement of genius and wounds, surrender, and preparing for accelerating change.

• “a series of books by nicholas taleb about fooled by randomness and black swan highly recommend them”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “highly recommend them”
  guest · Lex Fridman Podcast · Aug 202000:19:10

  Said during "Russ Tedrake: Underactuated Robotics, Control, Dynamics and Touch | Lex Fridman Podcast #114". The episode features Russ Tedrake: Roboticist, MIT professor, and VP of robotics research at Toyota Research Institute. Known for underactuated robotics, control theory, MIT's DARPA Robotics Challenge team, and the Drake simulator. MIT roboticist Russ Tedrake on why robots should embrace contact, softness, and physics instead of fighting gravity.