Category: Play

Kevin Kruse Interview on Fresh Air

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The New Deal, they argue, violates this natural order. In fact, they argue that the New Deal and the regulatory state violate the Ten Commandments. It makes a false idol of the federal government and encourages Americans to worship it rather than the Almighty.

Really interesting and thought provoking interview with Kevin Kruse about his new book on Fresh Air – it’s available here – worth a listen for students of history or political wonks, or, like me, the dangerous combination of the two.

The Omnipresence of Optionality

“Optionality is the property of asymmetric upside (preferably unlimited) with correspondingly limited downside (preferably tiny).”

Reading Antifragile has changed my outlook on many, many things – but the idea of optionality especially has been cropping up in unexpected places. Here, watch this highlight reel:

One thing almost all of these outstanding plays have in common? Besides outstanding athleticism and an egg-shaped ball, all of these scoring opportunities are notably opportunities gained through optionality: with the exception of the very first play, all of these tries were scored by players who not only positioned themselves to have a number of options, they also executed those options wisely.

In Taleb’s terms, they were able to create a situation with a huge opportunity for upside (gaining points) and very little exposure to a downside, since they were well-supported by multiple team mates at any given time.

When he said “Optionality can be found everywhere if you know how to look,” I wasn’t expecting to find it on the rugby pitch!