Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets @ richardeward.com

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
from Random House Trade Paperbacks

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

• I'm still a fool after reading this book
  PROS:
  * The book argues an important message (that we underestimate the role of luck in our results/outcome).
  * A few interesting anecdotes.
  CONS:
  * Although the author is self-deprecating at times, it smells more of false modesty rather than geniune humility (which he argues everyone should have). Most of the time (as other reviewers have noted) his arrogance comes out loud and clear, and that's annoying.
  * Disjointed style of writing. He rambles, jumps around, and writes... more info

• Great concept but poor writing
  Well, what can I say? The concept of "black swamp" function is very original and as a professional investor, I appreciate the author's insight into this critical concept to long term return. However, the whole book is about this concept and I don't learn anything new after finishing the first few chapters. Moreover, the author is a trader rather than a writer which probably explain his less-than-perfect reading style. Readers have to be prepared for his "non-linear" logic and could be very confusing at... more info

• are you fooled???
  i find it fascinating the diverse reviews this book has received, it seems to have a polarizing effect on readers! for me the book was engrossing, but admittedly i am a fan of taleb's writing and philosophy of life. while he is clearly not concerned with journalistic rules he is able to communicate his point. so what if his sentence structure is not perfect. what i appreciate most about his works, fooled by randomness included is that they caused me to think, and rethink my own beliefs and perceptions about... more info

• Randomness fools us all.
  This everyman's introduction to randomness should prove interesting to everyone who invests for profit, fun or retirement. The narrative style conveys the author's point that random spikes or troughs can occur in any investment without warning and that the oft used normal curve does not necessarily model the behavior of investments. It's sort of like saying that the normal wind speed is an accurate model for what could happen in tornado alley on a specific day in the summer.
  That being said, there's... more info

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