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Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets | 
 enlarge | Author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy New: £3.77
You Save: £6.22 (62%)
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Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 344
Media: Paperback
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 0141031484
EAN: 9780141031484
ASIN: 0141031484
Publication Date: May 3, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New Item. Direct Delivery from UK in 2 - 3 working days.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Irritating In The Extreme April 20, 2008
Eggball
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Much like the author, I suspect. Nassim Taleb is, at least by his own reckoning, one of the smartest men alive, and this estimate is present in just about every line of this book. The really irritating aspect is that he is writing about some genuinely interesting and even fascinating concepts and what could have been an mesmerising and perhaps even life changing read is destroyed by his complete inability to write. Perhaps English is not his first language, but I think that his real problem is a prickly narcissism which turns what should be an exhilarating exploration of new and sometimes even shocking ideas into a boring, contemptuous declaration of what is wrong with the media, market traders and economists, and this is a real shame, because when he's not pronouncing, he's actually worth listening to. What he needs is a ghost writer and a bloody good editor.
 a few hundred pages on...on what actually? March 25, 2008
JFR (Netherlands)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
for the general public interested in the weird world of probability or the unknowns of the universe i'd suggest buy a popular book on quantum theory or some post-modern work of fiction instead. sky diving is another option to explore probabilities. for the more mathematically inclined reader or trading professional it's probably better to stick to Taleb's good book: dynamic hedging.
Disappointed February 19, 2008
Avec Vous (Liverpool, UK)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
The basic idea of interpreting signal for noise was enticing. Wanted more psychology but just got quirky anecdotes. Interesting area for analysis and explication but this does not achieve either.
A missed opportunity January 18, 2008
Peter Richardson (Bromsgrove, UK)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
There are two main issues with this work.
Firstly, the text suffers from Taleb's overarching ego making far too many obnoxious intrusions. After being repeatedly told that the arguments presented before me are axiomatically correct on the basis of Taleb's undoubted (but overrated) intelligence, this book is difficult to take seriously. Much of the text could be written as a playground taunt of "Say I'm right or I'll ignore you and call you thicko to my pals". Charming!
Secondly, after making some admittedly correct observations Taleb just doesn't seem to be able to help himself from spilling over into an unstructured rant, ending with some rather pompous platitudes that ruined the entire book for me. It's not that I entirely disagree with him, just that I believe Taleb should have more respect for his readership and humanity as a whole.
The work of a good editor could have transformed Fooled By Randomness into a genuinely entertaining read on the often misunderstood area of probability. This book could also work as a good introduction to the topic of free will vs. determinism, although suffering from being a little one sided in its outlook.
Also, given the reliance on anecdotal evidence, nobody of any serious intellect can give Fooled By Randomness too much credibility. This book is mostly at journalistic standards.
If you are interested in probability and related topics there are other authors out there who can do it so much better, and without the unnecessary baggage. If you're not, then this book is a pointless ramble that will confuse the uninformed and cause rancour in others.
 Entertaining and fascinating introduction to fractals October 30, 2007
Bernat Aubia (Barcelona, Catalonia)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a really easy-to-read and interesting book about how we do not understand probability laws. It can be an easy introduction to the fascinating world of fractals and non-linear mathematics.
In my humble opinion this book out-rates "The Black Swan" by the same author. While reading "fooled by randomness" I laughed, I was amazed and made me explore with admiration the fascinating world discovered by Benoit Mandelbrot. I'm in debt with Nassim Taleb for this.
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