A review by bbatsov
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

3.0

I have to admit that reading this book was somewhat painful for me. It touches upon some great ideas, but it's super repetitive and disjointed. Taleb touches upon a ton of ideas in a very superficial manner, and often goes overboard with references to the work of others. I respect him for doing things his way, but that's not my way.

The book's core message is quite simple, even though it may be hard to understand (and apply):

We favor the visible, the embedded, the personal, the narrated, and the tangible; we scorn the abstract. Everything good (aesthetics, ethics) and wrong (Fooled by Randomness) with us seems to flow from it.

Anyways, I think the book is an interesting read regardless.