A review by violetturtledove
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

2.5

It's with a sigh of relief that I finish this book. It's quite intense, there are some very interesting ideas in it, but there's so much to get through: mathematics, philosophy, economics, probability, stock trading, history...

I found myself swinging between two modes, thinking 'I'm not clever enough to understand this' and thinking 'this author thinks he's so clever'. There are many generalisations used to demonstrate the various points, including a massive misunderstanding/oversimplification of autism, and this coupled with the smug attitude makes it a bit of a frustrating read.

So yes, there's a good premise at the heart of it and it will make you think, but I personally found it exhausting.