Great Quotes Pt. 8: Outliers

"The inability to predict outliers implies the inability to predict the course of history” - Nassim Taleb

Here is a quote to guide you through decision-making and the vast data & AI space from people way smarter than me:

"The inability to predict outliers implies the inability to predict the course of history” - Nassim Taleb

Do you know the main methods of dealing with outliers? They are reducing their weight, potentially changing their value to make them conform, or to use outlier robust estimation techniques in your processes.

In other words, the main method to work with outliers is to ignore them.

Yet the outliers really carry all the magic of any dataset or any series of events.

“singularity is almost invaribly a clue” - Sherlock Holmes

Only outliers and singularities tell you how your model of the world is wrong. They might not carry all the predictive power, but they sure as hell help you understand the limits of your worldview.

Don’t ignore outliers; celebrate them, for they come to expand your view of the world and show you how to make better decisions.

If you like these quotes, reach out to me by responding to the email version. I’m thinking about making a collection of actionable quotes that help me make sense of data & decisions.