How to Live in a World We Don't Understand

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Our understanding of the biological processes led to decrease in cures and cures. Whene we were thinkering, just going randomly looking for things, we didlot better than with directed research. So it's all part of the same package of how to live in a world we don't understand. The ancients knew how to do that much better than the moderns.

Nassim Taleb talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the financial crisis, how we misunderstand rare events, the fragility of the banking system, the moral hazard of government bailouts, the unprecedented nature of really, really bad events, the contribution of human psychology to misinterpreting probability and the dangers of hubris. The conversation closes with a discussion of religion and probability.