I don't think he has anglosaxon or PC sensibilities, so he doesn't agree on what is "boorish" or not with liberals (or sensitive old WASP church ladies for that matter).
Not all cultures agree on the same things -- nor are the "truths" of some particular place akin to physical laws. Taleb's from the Levant, and he shares part of that culture.
Which is also an ancient one at that.
Sure, some parts of the world don't appreciate that attribute to a culture either ("why should we care that a thing is ancient/tradition") it's all about being modern or justifiable in some (usually pseudo-) "scientific" way.
But part of Taleb's point (and he does make a rational argument for that, e.g. [1]) is that survivability, in ideas and in culture, matters just as much if not more.
I don't think he has anglosaxon or PC sensibilities, so he doesn't agree on what is "boorish" or not with liberals (or sensitive old WASP church ladies for that matter).
Not all cultures agree on the same things -- nor are the "truths" of some particular place akin to physical laws. Taleb's from the Levant, and he shares part of that culture.
Which is also an ancient one at that.
Sure, some parts of the world don't appreciate that attribute to a culture either ("why should we care that a thing is ancient/tradition") it's all about being modern or justifiable in some (usually pseudo-) "scientific" way.
But part of Taleb's point (and he does make a rational argument for that, e.g. [1]) is that survivability, in ideas and in culture, matters just as much if not more.
[1] https://medium.com/incerto/how-to-be-rational-about-rational...