Mr Taleb cut his philosophical teeth in the basement of his family home in Lebanon during the long civil war there (another Black Swan), devouring books as mortars flew overhead.

• 在漫长的内战（又一只“黑天鹅”）时期，塔布勒在黎巴嫩家中的地下室里长出智齿。迫击炮弹在头顶乱飞，他兀自大啃书本。