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 enlarge | Author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy New: £4.16
You Save: £5.83 (58%)
New (25) Used (3) from £4.16
Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 480
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 - ***Delivery usually * 2 - 3 * working days - From Aphrohead of SOUTHPORT, Lancs, uk *** . Priority Airmail used Worldwide on International orders. Thanks from all at Aphrohead.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Entertaining and fascinating introduction to fractals October 30, 2007
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.
 Statistical Karma will get you in the end October 7, 2007
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Any book that stimulates the mind, leaving you thinking about the content for a long time after reading, is a worthy read even if its tone, message or style is not always appealing and this is such a book.
One trader makes large profits from his trading decisions three years in a row, is considered highly skilled in his profession and is financially rewarded. Another trader makes a loss and loses his job. Nassim Taleb argues that the difference could be more due to luck than talent and that in business and life in general people have a tendency to provide cause and effect explanations to what are in reality random events.
Taleb comes across as the rebellious anti-establishment statistician, showing his disdain and frustration at the abuse of statistics and logic that he sees in the world around him. He describes the many flaws in the mathematical and logical reasoning used by the 'experts'. This book illustrates many ways that misuse of statistical models and logical inference can lead to inaccurate conclusions and promote the unworthy to stardom. The misconceptions are presented in an entertaining, easy to read manner and while many of the underlying statistical concepts are not new and may even appear to be common sense, the point made is that the human brain is not necessarily programmed to apply them naturally in the real world.
There is a frustrating element to the book in that it raises more questions than answers. Assuming the biases and inaccuracies in stock market modeling do exist, then there is a lack of practical suggestions on how to react to this or benefit from this. There is a danger here of promoting academic purity over real world pragmatism, the statistical models and tools used may not be perfect but what is the alternative apart from flipping a coin?
Taleb does hint at a successful options trading method he uses to exploit biases in stock market decision making models yet he never elaborates. Such claims could be treated with skepticism. For example, if rare events are so rare that one cannot quantify their probablity or impact, how can one accurately assess the best method to profit from them?
Masterclass October 5, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've not finished reading this yet, but am impressed by the intelligence and clarity of this book. It clarifies and explains how chance can affect outcomes, and is a great antidote to wishful, lazy or magical thinking. An intellectual but unpretentious read which will reward a slight effort with understanding. Highly recommended.
 Not very readable September 8, 2007
4 out of 11 found this review helpful
Whilst the ideas were thought provoking, the writing style is such that after reading a chapter it was difficult to recall the conclusions. Not user friendly.
 Random thoughts September 5, 2007
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
Some good stuff in here, but I was irritated by the author's display of his own cleverness, and I didn't think the material very well organised. The best bits for me were about how humans are often quite poor in dealing with probability, but if you want a more in depth and enlightening discussion of why this is so from an evolutionary psychology perspective, I recommend Steven Pinker's "How the Mind Works".
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