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  • Fooled by Randomness

  • The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
  • Written by: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
  • Narrated by: Sean Pratt
  • Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (234 ratings)

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Fooled by Randomness

Written by: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Narrated by: Sean Pratt
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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

What the critics say

"[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)

What listeners say about Fooled by Randomness

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9 hours of mindless blabbering

Absolute junk. Don't even bother wasting your time. Total of 3 sentences of useful information

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5 people found this helpful

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  • Ses
  • 2021-12-25

not good enough

If to think about it. The whole book could be explained in 3 sentences. I would recommend buying a real school book about probably theory.
The whole thing could be explained to 9 y.o. child in 10 minutes, and he/she will able to understand it.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Harsh, brutal, but Brilliant and funny

If you have the patience to listen to his repetitive stories, showing off his knowledge and life styles, insults across many different reputable professions, and random personal feelings, this book will offer you something deep to think about and some funny bits to laugh out loud.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Insightful yet insufferable

Taleb's works require a distillation. He has insightful points to make. But most of what you get is him bad mouthing some other person or profession. I can't do that for hours on end. You could get the message in 1/10 the prose.

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3 people found this helpful

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Great book

I love the way Nassim Taleb thinks and the way he tells his stories. I will eventually read all his book.

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2 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Very vague

This book is all over the place. I didn't learn anything from this book. Lots of ideas but no real conclusion.

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2 people found this helpful

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Too much bla bla bla

This book is tremendously hard to listen. Neither it carries any knowledge of anything that can be applied in your life. I’ve been fooled by marketing buying this book.

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1 person found this helpful

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A book about the obvious ...

Good book. Interesting unpopular view points that i doubt many within the "matrix" would agree with even though the observations and conclusions are highly plausible.

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A Piece of Garbage

Don't even try, absolute waste of time. The author himself doesn't understand what he is talking about I guess

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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Sin sentido…

Es un muy buen libro sobre estudios matemáticos y reflexiones de estadística. Para un amante a la matemática es una buena opción pero en general, los ejemplos no llegan a ser bien aterrizados en las historias y muchas veces se pierde un poco el sentido.
TIENE UN PROBLEMA DE AUDIO algunos capítulos avanzan pero el sonido es nulo, existen tramos en donde solo es silencio. Pareciera que no se descargó bien o no lo subieron bien.

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