Fooled by Randomness cover art

Fooled by Randomness

The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets

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Fooled by Randomness

By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Narrated by: Sean Pratt
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About this listen

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
Investing & Trading Mathematics Personal Finance Philosophy Investing Business Mythology

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)
All stars
Most relevant  
Incredibly insightful and powerful commentary - a must for business and ordinary people. This will challenge your thinking and push you to re-evaluate your biases.

Amazing insights on markets, economy and humans

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Enjoyed the concepts outlined throughout the book but a very technical listen. You’ll have to concentrate.

Very technical

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Good information on the way of the world. Hard to follow at times and does need to be re-listened too several times to grasp the ideas. Overall good

Still good

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Whoever is liking Marco Aurelio, Seneca or Montaigne should read books from N Taleb. In fact, anyone who likes literature will certainly enjoy reading this and other titles from the author. Lovers of fictions written by J Borges, R Roussel or G Perec will also find the themes developed in Taleb’s book most entertaining. Most readers of R Dobelli will probably not be able to appreciate fully N Taleb’s developments, but mistakes are proof that they are trying…

A most interesting book

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The supreme arrogance of NNT in this audiobook is nauseating but the content is very interesting.

The recording is great quality but the chapter breakdown is poor (long silences).

Arrogance & Interest

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subject yourself to probability..willingly. ironically there is a word minimum required for review..I will listen to this regularly

95% confidence level value

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Someone alot smarter than me told me to read this book. I'm so glad I did. I haven't blown up trading but have come so close. I would have repeated the same mistakes if not for this books remarkable perspective and how applicable his insights here are to other areas of life. I have never heard a perspective like this before and this would be one person if you could have dinner and learn from...he's gone to the top of my dream dinner list...

Trading Jesus

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Very nice, only qualm is the large silent pausea between chapters - unless that's intended so the beginning the next chapter is... unpredictable

Good Read, take your time with it

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I think more people need to understand that value in understanding randomness, luck and probability

Great perspective

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Didn't know what I was getting myself into listening to this book, found myself laughing a lot, stopping and looking up a whole lot of things. Even though prob 2/3rds of it went over my head, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the narrator was simply perfect for the text.

Most of this went over my head but loved it

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