Tightrope walking satirical or acidic contexts. Nicholas Taleb uses the phrase in his book "The Black Swan". "You get respect for doing funambulism or spectator sports". Taleb is criticising scientists who prefer popularism to vigorous research and those who walk a fixed and narrow path rather than explore a large field of empirical study. Tightrope walking Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope walking and slacklining. Acrobats maintain their
Letter to a Priest which have dwelt in me for years (some of them at least) and which form a barrier between me and the Church."" Weil scholar George Panichas writes that the letter reflects Weil's profound disagreement with official Catholic dogma, but also shows that her heart belongs to the Church. The letter was addressed to a French priest living in New York, the Dominican Fr. Édouard Couturier, when Simone Weil herself was staying there in the autumn of 1942. She was anxious at this time to return to Europe to join the Free French Movement of Charles de Gaulle in London, even