Fooled by Randomness
Categories: Business & Money
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a former trader, argues that we routinely mistake luck for skill. First published in 2001, Fooled by Randomness is the first part of his Incerto series on uncertainty. Drawing on financial markets, where chance is easy to mistake for talent, Taleb examines how people misread probability, see patterns in noise and explain events after the fact. He shows how these errors shape business, investing and everyday life.
Recommended by 6 people
- Nick Kokonas
- James Altucher
- Howard S. Marks
- Ryan Holiday
- Naval Ravikant: “He is also famous for The Black Swan, Antifragile, and Fooled by Randomness, all of which are worth reading.”
- Shane Parrish: “As hard as it is to believe, I’d never read Fooled by Randomness until now. The core of Taleb’s other books — The Black Swan and Antifragile — can be found in this early work. One of the best take-aways for me was the concept of alternative histories.”