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Making Sense with Sam Harris · October 25, 2024 · 80m

#389 — The Politics of Risk

Nate Silver on risk, prediction, and the psychology of gambling. His book On the Edge explores how professional risk-takers think differently from the rest of us — and what politics can learn from poker.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Canon

Silver: good prediction is about process, not results. You can make the right bet and lose. The Stoic insight applies: control your reasoning process, accept that outcomes are partly random.
Silver: the best poker players and traders treat cognitive clarity as their competitive edge. Alcohol, poor sleep, and emotional dysregulation are not just health issues — they're strategic disadvantages.
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