Fooled by Randomness

The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets

By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

This audiobook 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, this audiobook is a captivating insight into one of the least understood factors of all our lives. In an entertaining 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. Taleb uses 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.

The audiobook is populated with an array of characters, some of whom have grasped, in their own way, the significance of chance: Yogi Berra, the baseball legend; Karl Popper, the philosopher of knowledge; Solon, the ancient world's wisest man; the modern financier George Soros; and the Greek voyager Ulysses. We also meet the fictional Nero, who seems to understand the role of randomness in his professional life, but who also falls victim to his own superstitious foolishness.

But the most recognizable character remains unnamed, the lucky fool in the right place at the right time - the embodiment of the "Survival of the Least Fit". Such individuals attract devoted followers who believe in their guru's insights and methods. But no one can replicate what is obtained through chance.

It may be impossible to guard against the vagaries of the Goddess Fortuna, but after listening to Fooled by Randomness we can be a little better prepared.

©2004 Nassim Nicholas Taleb (P)2008 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"[Taleb is] Wall Street's principal dissident....[ Fooled by Randomness] is to conventional Wall Street wisdom approximately what Martin Luther's ninety-nine theses were to the Catholic Church." (Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker)
"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." (Amazon.com)

At times hard to comprehend but it is a great book

Great book and equally great effort by the narrator. Although some concepts were hard to comprehend it was very illuminating. The author may sound cocky but for me that was an additional flavor in the book. If you are someone ruled by your logic rather than your emotions, you will probably love this book.

What I liked

This book makes you think and aware of all of your infallibilities. It also provides a great understanding and why experts are frequently wrong.

Fooled by Randomness

One of the great books of the Taleb trilogy from one of the most thought-provoking and relevant writers of this century.

simply creative

very interesting book, I cannot imagine one written better and choosing the best reader as well.!!!

A man too smart for me.

I had the sense at many points Nassim was simply talking to himself,that this was not in fact a book but his journal. I came away from it feeling rather stupid, but clearly that's just my problem.

Great listen

Excellent book by NNT. If you think that nothing is by chance, this book is for you.

Honesty Crashes Reality

Taleb is brutally honest in this writing about how we think about and more importantly respond to the world around us. If you think to highly of yourself you will not enjoy this text!

Thought provoking

This is a book I need to reread at least another time to grasp fully, but from the first impression, it was a captivating read that reveals the human essence and our tendencies.

insufferable Narcissist

Written by an insufferable narcissist, but with occasional clusters of great insight. Whether you can actually get to those clusters of wisdom depends on your ability and willingness to put up with the author.

one of the best books I have consumed . period.

full of useful nuggets and lot of wisdom packed into a book. a must read.