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The black elephants

One example of a black elephant was the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The destructive power of the atom bomb stunned Japan into surrender

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4 min read Last Updated : Nov 20 2019 | 7:07 PM IST

The phrase “black elephant” has been gaining traction on social media. This is an amalgamation of two phrases. One, “The elephant in the room” is about something large and obvious that is being ignored or overlooked. The other, “black swan” is an event that seems impossible and unpredictable until it occurs. A “black elephant” therefore, is an apparently unpredictable event that should actually be very predictable.

It is impossible to prepare for a black swan, by definition. At best, it is possible to build robust systems that can cope with it. It is possible to prepare for a black elephant,

Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www-business-standard-com-nalsar.knimbus.com or the Business Standard newspaper

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