Minority dominance is a special asymmetric phenomenon.
Social progress only needs asymmetry and a few people who are fully committed to risk. As long as a stubborn minority plays a role disproportionate to its number, it can promote social progress. Margaret mead: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens will change the world. In fact, human history is written in this way. Alexander the Great: A flock of sheep led by a lion is more effective than a flock of lions led by a sheep. Taleb: A person's courage can defeat a group of cowards.
Minority-dominated phenomenon is the "mother of asymmetry".
Jews account for only 0.3% of the total population in the United States, and almost all drinks in the United States conform to Jewish etiquette. Only a few people are allergic to peanuts, but peanut butter is not provided at school or on the plane. A few people can only drive automatic transmission, and as a result, all cars support automatic transmission. English speakers can't speak other languages, and as a result, everyone speaks English (everyone accommodates people who can't speak English, so a group of people communicate in broken English).
Four conditions for the establishment of moral standards: first, the moral preference of minorities. Second, the minority reached 3% ~ 4% of the total population. The third is the minority erin brockovich. Fourth, minorities are evenly distributed in all social classes and countries and regions.
Stubbornness and intolerance are one of the magic weapons for the minority to win.
By never compromising, the virtue of the minority becomes the virtue of the whole society. The minority mainly urges the majority to change through "veto". Enthusiastic minorities can push all kinds of bans. A few people don't like a book, so they can push the book ban. (P 108) The success of McDonald's is only due to good luck, but because it is mediocre and stable, and no specific group vetoes it. （P 100）
Minority dominance is also the reason to prevent the widespread spread of genetically modified foods, and it is also the reason to make organic foods popular. (Because food costs mainly come from circulation, genetically modified foods do not have absolute advantages in terms of price. )
Taleb believes that there are three problems with genetically modified golden rice: first, if it is to solve the food problem, it is better to work hard on logistics; Second, if it is to solve the vitamin problem, it is more convenient and direct to provide vitamins directly to children; Third, golden rice has unpredictable environmental impact.
The rules promoted by the minority are often more stable in implementation, because their rules are black and white and binary opposition. The principle of zero tolerance and one-size-fits-all minority is easier to implement. （P 1 1 1）
The majority chose to accept it to get rid of the harassment of the diehards. The majority is compatible with the stubborn minority, which gives birth to the "reorganization phenomenon."
The minority-dominated phenomenon needs two conditions: one is average dispersion. The stubborn minority does not live in a specific area, but is evenly scattered among the people. Second, the cost is not high. The moderate majority adapting to the stubborn minority will not bring a huge increase in cost. If it is improved, the dominant phenomenon will be difficult to appear. （P94）
Taleb found that genes follow the majority rule, while language follows the minority rule. Language travels everywhere, and genes take root. (P 103) There have been many foreign immigrants in the Middle East. As a result, many languages of these invaders have remained, but not many genes. Norman Conquest only brought French to England, but not many French genes. Aryans and Semites are two groups with basically the same genes, but different languages.
Due to the dominance of the stubborn minority, the result of religious faction competition is that the most intolerant person wins, and one is more extreme than the other. (P 107) Christianity never compromised in its early days and eventually replaced Roman pantheism. Islam never compromised, so it rose rapidly.
This can also explain why Islam today has such a great influence in the world. The number of Muslims in Britain is only 3% ~ 4% of the total population, but the proportion of halal food in the market is very high. The same is true of South Africa.
Taleb believes that if the minority dominant principle is indulged, the future of the world will be: a politically intolerant minority may manipulate and even destroy the democratic system until the world is finally destroyed. Therefore, we can't be tolerant of some intolerant minorities because they violate the silver law. ..... Extremely intolerant Islamic radicals completely deny others the right to choose their own religion. They should not adhere to the so-called American values or western human rights principles when treating them. That is not defending freedom and democracy, but committing suicide. （P 1 13）
Taleb believes that the mirror principle precedes the silver law, and we don't need to obey the silver law for those who don't obey it.
Taleb pointed out that the strategy to deal with stubborn minority dominance is decentralization.
If the United States is centralized, minorities will play a greater role. However, the United States is a federal country, so there are different minorities in different States, so there will be no situation in which a minority gains power everywhere and ultimately affects the country.
Attachment: book review of the complete notes of asymmetric risk (asymmetric risk)