A worthy read. Taleb lists ten things we need to do to prevent further debt bubble catastrophes. I’ll list one and link to the rest.

Do not give an addict more drugs if he has withdrawal pains. Using leverage to cure the problems of too much leverage is not homeopathy, it is denial. The debt crisis is not a temporary problem, it is a structural one. We need rehab.

While I’m largely sympathetic to Mr. Taleb, I am surprised that he seems to be even more skeptical of models than I am. One can get too wrapped up in empiricism, and it is wholly inefficient to rely only on empirical observations for every decision. At some point, you need to rely on estimations and statistics. His book looks worth a read and I will probably buy it, but a quick look at blurbs in wikipedia indicates that he could be downright anti-scientific. That being said the overreliance on computer models to economics is part and parcel of the problem with the housing bubble. And anyone who despises Ben Bernanke this much is worth listening to. The last two minutes are really good.