Item — HN Reader

Nassim Nicholas Taleb ( 2014 July 1. ) :

"The latest version of our precautionary principle, with application to GMOs, refined thanks to more fallacies in arguments countering it. For discussion before we move to the final version."

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8nhAlfIk3QIbGFzOXF5UUN3N2c/...

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"What people miss is that the modification of crops impacts everyone and exports the error from the local to the global.

I do not wish to pay —or have my descendants pay — for errors by executives of Monsanto.

We should exert the precautionary principle there —our non-naive version — simply because we would discover errors after considerable damage."

http://blog.longnow.org/02013/07/08/the-artangel-longplayer-...

2 comments

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the man is even afraid to drink orange juice, because it's too modern and untested for him:

"Taleb's hatred for orange juice is an example of a wider disdain for the modern diet. He reveals his personal food rules, and very fascinating they are: no liquids that have not existed for at least one thousand years (i.e. wine, water and coffee only), no fruit not present in the ancient Mediterranean (no pineapples, pawpaws or other exotica)"

http://www.zoefcunningham.com/blog/antifragile-5-things-nass...

So I think we can write off Taleb's fears as totally nuts.

I agree with the paper: the principle issue with GMO is the unavoidable, unpredictable systemic effects it will have.

P.S. I've already found several, almost verbatim, examples of the given fallacies right here in these comments.

I think publishing a book also may have "unpredictable systemic effects" (there have been several books that have radically altered the course of history), so it should be approached with extreme caution, don't you think? However, Taleb has published several books, so I don't think he lives like he preaches.