The author of the best seller "The Black Swan" is categorical: modern civilization resembles the bed of Procrustes. Just as the mythological villain would cut off limbs or stretch the body of those who did not fit perfectly into his bed, so too has the Western way of life changed humans to satisfy technology, blamed reality for not fitting economic models, invented diseases to sell medicines, defined intelligence as what can be measured in a classroom, and convinced people that work is not slavery.

"The Bed of Procrustes" is a collection of playful aphorisms that will surprise you, revealing delusions we have lived with for a long time but never realized.

With a rare combination of caustic humor and Eastern wisdom, Taleb grapples with human illusions, contrasting the classic values of resilience, subtlety, and erudition with the modern ailments of philistinism and hypocrisy.