[coldtea]

>The colorful graphs in Taleb's blog post here obscure the fact that his claims are completely unsubstantiated.

More than this comment that doesn't offer any?

Taleb makes some quite specific arguments, and the graphs are quite illuminating as well.

Check the "IQ and wealth" graph for example -- it looks like a total scattershot outside of the bottom left corner that everyone could predict (intellectually challenged people -> low income). That alone would be enough to justify the entire post.

>He's also extremely condescending (bordering on dismissive) to a variety of disciplines.

That's good in my book. We need more colorful characters and less hive mind and institutionalism. Then again I prefer Feyerabend to Kuhn, and Tom Waits to Michael Bolton.