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Price: $79.99 as of 07/30/2010 07:31 EDT
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 332
EAN: 9781587991844
Edition: 2
ISBN: 1587991845
Label: Texere
Manufacturer: Texere
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 312
Publication Date: March 12, 2004
Publisher: Texere
Studio: Texere
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Review:
If the prescriptions for getting rich that are outlined in books such as The Millionaire Next Door and Rich Dad Poor Dad are successful enough to make the books bestsellers, then one must ask, Why aren't there more millionaires? In Fooled by Randomness, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a professional trader and mathematics professor, examines what randomness means in business and in life and why human beings are so prone to mistake dumb luck for consummate skill. This eccentric and highly personal exploration of the nature of randomness meanders from the court of Croesus and trading rooms in New York and London to Russian roulette, Monte Carlo engines, and the philosophy of Karl Popper. Part of what makes this book so good is Taleb's ability to make seemingly arcane mathematical concepts (at least to this reviewer) entirely relevant in evaluating and understanding everything from the stock market to the success of those millionaires cited in the aforementioned bestsellers. Here's an articulate, wise, and humorous meditation on the nature of success and failure that anyone who wants a little more of the former would do well to consider. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards
Product Description:
Selected by Amazon.com and The Financial Times as one of the best business books of the year, Fooled by Randomness is an instant classic. Already published in 14 languages, the book?s title has entered our vocabulary. After reading the excitement expressed below for Fooled by Randomness one realizes that its world-wide bestseller status is no random event. This book is about luck ? or more precisely how we perceive and deal with luck in life and business. It is already a landmark work and its title has entered our vocabulary. In its second edition, Fooled by Randomness is now a cornerstone for anyone interested in random outcomes. Set against the backdrop of the most conspicuous forum in which luck is mistaken for skill ? the world of trading ? Fooled by Randomness is a captivating insight into one of the least understood factors of all our lives. Writting in an entertaining and narrative style, the author succeeds in tackling three major intellectual issues: the problem of induction, the survivorship biases, and our genetic unfitness to the modern word. In this second edition, Taleb manages to use stories and anecdotes to illustrate our overestimation of causality and the heuristics that make us view the world as far more explainable than it actually is. But no one can replicate what is obtained by chance. Are we capable of distinguishing the fortunate charlatan from the genuine visionary? Must we always try to uncover nonexistent messages in random events? It may be impossible to guard ourselves against the vagaries of the Goddess Fortuna, but after reading Fooled by Randomness we can be a little better prepared.
Average Rating: 
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Although a slightly pessimistic view on life, Nassim gives a great outlook and perspective of success and the role randomness plays in it.
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I enjoyed this book and kudos to Taleb for making such a dry subject very interesting.
I prefer this book over the Black Swan since this book attacks all uncertainties in life than Black Swan which is focused on just one type of uncertainty.
My biggest beef is when Taleb proudly proclaims - "Instead of immediate philosophizing and working at McDonald's, he went to work as a trader to become financially secure"
Now Taleb is it not the whole idea of your book ... Read More
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The book is great in its own manner. This book is not the body of a new scientific theory nor will it teach you how to invest your money etc. I've come to see this book as a self-help one, for it helps dealing with the randomness that pervades life.
Rating:  -
Taleb is a disagreeable former options trader who has made a second career of being a guru. He certainly doesn't want to be a trader again.
It is said that if you do something you love you will never work a day in your life. Taleb developed a way to trade options that was uniquely unpleasant. He hated it and was showing signs of stress in the form of tics and other mannerisms. We know this because Malcolm Gladwell published an essay on Taleb while he was still trading.
Taleb's ... Read More
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Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb observes two rules. First, the author sticks to things he either personally observed or ideas he personally developed, and, second, to only write on topics he had thought deeply about and found easy to discuss. In Taleb's own words, "Everything that remotely felt like work was out." This lazy man's approach to a book - or a two-hour lecture topic - has the advantage of keeping the topic focused on areas of deep knowledge, areas where the writer or speaker has ... Read More
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