Neomania (Attraction to the New)

Taleb's term for the systematic human bias toward the new over the time-tested—the reflexive assumption that newer means better. Neomania drives technology adoption cycles, management fad consumption, and the perpetual replacement of working systems with untested innovations. The Lindy Effect provides the counter-argument: old things that still exist have demonstrated robustness that new things haven't. Neomania is especially dangerous in domains where the consequences of failure are severe: replacing a proven system with an unproven one introduces risk without guaranteed improvement.

When to use it

When the appeal of a new technology or approach seems to come more from its novelty than from solving a specific problem; when organizations are replacing working systems with trendy alternatives; when evaluating whether to adopt new tools, frameworks, or methodologies; when the cost of failure is high and the proven approach still works.

How it can help

Before adopting anything new—technology, methodology, strategy, tool—apply the 'what problem does this solve that the old approach doesn't?' test. If the answer is vague or primarily about novelty, neomania is driving the decision. The Lindy-weighted approach: default to the time-tested unless the new approach solves a specific, important problem that the old approach can't address. This doesn't mean never innovate—it means innovate with awareness that new introduces unknown risks that old has already survived.