Oct 15 2008
Fooled by Randomness
I’ve just started reading Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb. The author has garnered a great deal of press in recent years and has become something of a lightening rod for his views. I’m reading the second edition. The introductory comments suggest a good read. When I’m done I’ll post a review, as always.
Here are some other posts which might interest you:
- Some interesting stuff in the media
- Book Review: Reward Systems by Steve Kerr
- My first actual book royalty payment!
- Financial Shock
- Hit the 1000 comment milestone
John,
I highly recommend this book. It deals what role chance plays in our lives and how people misunderstand their skills with chance and luck. Since this is Mr. Taleb’s first book on thish subject, his second book The Black Swan is even better and more explainable. As a ex-trader he challenges in-the-box thinking of economists, financists and all people dealing with conventional statistics (Gaussian-type) and how they use it in an environment (he called it Extremistan) which do not obey such rules. Also, Mr. Taleb explains the psychological reasons (cognitive biases) behind this misunderstanding. It is a must read for traders
I’ve finished reading the book and posted a review here.