But not Bashar Taleb?

Have you ever watched the TV show Alone? It’s an outdoor survival competition reality show. In it people regularly end up medically evacuated due to starvation or malnutrition.

Sometimes you can tell by looking at someone’s face they’re starving - but usually you can’t. Usually it’s when they strip down for the periodic medical exam when you can actually tell how starved they are.

Do you want a recent photo of this man, or do you want him to strip naked for you to judge his weight loss?

Why is one man stripping naked for you something you need before you’ll believe the hundreds of different people saying that people are starving?

Like, seriously. What if he’s lying? He could be, of course - but would you then believe everyone is lying? Or what if he’s telling the truth about weight loss, and you see proof - will you then turn around and say well yeah but he’s probably just starving himself for attention?

You need proof one man is starving to believe hundreds?

Do you just believe everything you read on the internet? Or do you only believe it once $N others believe it on the exact same dubious evidence?

Funnily enough, everybody's a sceptic when buying a used car.