"Nonlinearity"

This mathematical term is best described by Nassim in his book Fooled by Randomness by the concept of Sandpile effect.
Think of making a structure of beach sand. Keep on raising the structure with sand till the time it falls off. Now try to figure out the effect of that last grain of sand that would have brought about this fall. The one grain has that non linear effect on that complete structure.

Non linearity in life is something our brain always refuse to understand. All of us have small events in our lives which have transformational effects on it. This is what can explain that extra mile effort before which most of us give up. Those who don't reap benefits of nonlinearity in life.

Quotes from "Fooled by Randomness"

* A mathematician is absorbed in what goes into his head, while a scientist searches what is outside of him.

* Heroes are heroes because they are heroic in behavior, not because they won or lost.

* Rational Thinking seems to do is to rationalize one's action by fitting some logic to them.

* Risk detection and avoidance are not mediated in thinking part of the brain but "emotional one"

*commonsense is nothing but a collection of misconceptions gained by age eighteen.

* Probability is an introspective field of inquiry.

*Past is always deterministic

* History flows forward, we envision it backward.

*Unlike other hard sciences history cannot lend itself to experimentation.

* Wealth does not count as much to one's well being as the route to get to it.

*History teaches us that things that did not happen before do happen.

* Science is mere speculation, mere formulation of conjecture.

*Generally attitude of epic heroism accompanies rapid enrichment.

* Work ethics is another name for Inefficient Mediocrity