The world we live in today is more random than we would like to think. A human mind is a meaning-making machine. Through millions of years of evolution, nature has hardwired the human brain to seek patterns and consistencies everywhere. But as civilization has progressed the world around us has become increasingly random i.e., uncertain and unpredictable.
Nassim Taleb is one of those thinkers of modern times who is ardently loved by many intellectuals and criticized by probably more. In his talks and public interactions, Taleb comes out as someone who has a knack for rubbing off people the wrong way. His writing style has been labelled as excessively rhetoric and provocative.
Even Howard Marks, a very successful and highly respected value investor, said this about Fooled by Randomness－ the most important badly written book.
As for Nassim, whether you like him or hate him, one thing is for sure － his ideas can’t be ignored. Once you set aside those minor personality issues and get past the resistance created by Taleb’s unique writing style, his books are a treat to read and choc full of thought provoking arguments. In my library, this book is probably the most highlighted, underlined and annotated one.
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