Among the people we reached out to while reporting this week’s cover story on Rich Marin was Nassim Taleb. Not only is he a well-known talking head (and presumably accessible), but he also got his start at Bankers Trust, just like Mr. Marin. Well, we were in for a terse, maybe even rude, but also hilarious surprise: Mr. Taleb’s over-the-top auto-reply email.
We are not the first recipient of the correspondence either, it having first been publicized by Business Insider‘s Joe Weisenthal two years ago. It looks like nothing has changed, except for the date. Not sure if Mr. Taleb started taking emails sometime after January 2011 and now, or if the date just keeps changing and getting pushed back. (And we’ll probably never know, because Mr. Taleb won’t answer our emails.)
Below is the auto-reply, along with our initial query, for the sake of transparency. We hope you enjoy it this as much as we do.
AUTOREPLY
(Please ignore this message if you are a personal friend or engaged in an ongoing
correspondence).Dear correspondent;
I am currently disengaged from the rest of the world (until November 2012).
I had to stop replying to emails outside of the strictly personal (friends, family, citizens of Amioun, etc.), except for extremely important/urgent matters.
Please note that, except for emergencies & appointments, I reply to mails with an equivalent frequency to that of classical letters.
(REQUESTS: Also note that 1) I no longer do media interviews (except those scheduled by publishers), 2) can no longer endorse books, 3) do not participate in documentary films, 4) will not give lectures in Asia, Australia, and other places entailing severe jetlag, etc.)
I apologize for the inconvenience.
On Sep 29, 2012, at 10:38 AM, Matt Chaban <mchaban@observer.com> wrote:
> Nassim,
>
> Hi. I’m working on a story about Rich Marin. Not sure if you worked with him at Bankers Trust, but if so, I’d love to get your impression of him. Not sure you’ve heard, but that giant ferris wheel in Staten Island, the biggest in the world, that is Rich Marin’s latest venture, after Bear and his stint in real estate. Working on a profile of him, so it would be great to get your insights if you know him. And/or if you know anyone better to talk to, that would be great. Thanks so much!
>
> Sincerely,
> Matt Chaban
>
> Real Estate Editor
> The New York Observer
