Tag Archives: nassim taleb

Are you a policy fashion victim?

Posted on July 4, 2016 by

I’m a big fan of Nassim Taleb but clearly he’s no fan of the likes of me. My one saving grace?  I do deadlift, 127.5kg for 6 reps, Mr Taleb. He’s never heard of me, but he knows my type.  I’m a … Continue reading →

Posted in all wrong, command and control, public sector, systems thinking | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

How to be fooled by randomness

Posted on April 10, 2016 by

This is a roulette wheel. It is a machine for producing numbers between 0 and 36. Sometimes it produces a 7… Then sometimes it produces a 13… If a 7 is produced on one spin and a 13 on the … Continue reading →

Posted in data, leadership, systems thinking | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The house that looks like Hitler

Posted on June 13, 2015 by

Remember the house that looks like Hitler? Course you do, it’s a house that looks like Hitler. What’s to forget? There’s loads of things that look like faces. There is the tampon machine that just loves checkin’ the ladies out… … Continue reading →

Posted in human brains are weird, information, psychology, statistics, systems thinking | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Why scorecards are as dangerous as Michael Jackson’s personal doctor

Posted on May 21, 2014 by

Let me take you back to an experiment that took place in 1930s New York…..   No matter how many times a child was presented to a doctor, there was a 50% chance that they would be prescibed a tonsilectomy…even if … Continue reading →

Posted in data, statistics, systems thinking | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

On the internet nobody knows you are a Policy Officer

Posted on December 12, 2013 by

A few months ago I got an email from Seth Godin, world famous internet man. This week  Nassim Taleb, sent me a tweet, the guy who predicted the 2008 economic crash. I am a Policy Expert nobody, and Seth and … Continue reading →

Posted in systems thinking, thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Big Data a pile of cack?

Posted on September 29, 2013 by

80% of  conclusions drawn from Big Data are incorrect.[link] The UK government is investing £64 million in Big Data. [link] I was fooled by Big Data,  you don’t have to be. Here is my story. Years ago I worked in an … Continue reading →

Posted in command and control, data, learning, statistics, systems thinking | Tagged , | 8 Comments

How to be Topp

Posted on June 18, 2013 by

“You don’t eat to be “the best” taster the world, don’t take a stroll to be “the best” stroller in the world, don’t push buttons in an elevator to be the best button pusher in the world. So if you … Continue reading →

Posted in psychology, thinking, very short posts | Tagged , | Leave a comment