The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable @ richardeward.com

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
from Random House

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

• Patronizing, arrogant, and nothing(!) new
  Taleb claims the book 'practically wrote itself;' what he really means, is that he just lifted some ideas from old philosophers and let Word do the rest.
  The Black Swan provides an interested reader with important insights, no doubt, but they are nothing new. Indeed, possibly the most frustrating aspect of this book is how vainglorious its author is. He claims he felt 'vindicated' on Black Monday ... How? All Taleb has done is taken others ideas and repackaged them. While he was correct to believe them... more info

• No wonder "they" are wrong !!
  So, you wondered why the "guru" wasn't all that good. Taleb explains - in clear and entertaing terms - why you should "make up your own" mind. I look at things "differently" now - I tend to be skeptical anyway - but I feel better about my decisions. I am encouraging others to get the book or at least make an effort to find out about "the other sides of statistics!" And the concept of a "Black Swan" is fantastic !!
  A good read !! Marty Dowling

• For Whom the Bell Curves
  Ha! My clever title has nothing to do with my review (or does it?). Anyway, I found this book quite challenging. As I've said in other reviews, I am quite the layman when it comes to statistics and probability. But I think I got the gist of Taleb's concepts: we rely on flawed notions to make decisions or to view the world: the ludic fallacy; the narrative fallacy; the confirmation bias, etc. Foolish men (I don't think there is even one instance of a woman being mentioned, as either one who gets Taleb's... more info

• Padded out "Fooled By Randomness"
  For all the interesting stories, Black Swans has essentially the same message as Taleb's earlier book "Fooled By Randomness"; market prices do not follow a bell curve, and instead have a lot more unexpected extreme events. That said, most investment-related books tend not to linger on this issue, so Taleb is providing a reminder of something critical in markets. His style does come across arrogant, and judging by the bibliography (as well as the main text), he does want to show the world he is widely read.... more info

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