Customer Reviews:
 Great concept but poor writing June 15, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well, what can I say? The concept of "black swamp" function is very original and as a professional investor, I appreciate the author's insight into this critical concept to long term return. However, the whole book is about this concept and I don't learn anything new after finishing the first few chapters. Moreover, the author is a trader rather than a writer which probably explain his less-than-perfect reading style. Readers have to be prepared for his "non-linear" logic and could be very confusing at times.
 are you fooled??? June 13, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
i find it fascinating the diverse reviews this book has received, it seems to have a polarizing effect on readers! for me the book was engrossing, but admittedly i am a fan of taleb's writing and philosophy of life. while he is clearly not concerned with journalistic rules he is able to communicate his point. so what if his sentence structure is not perfect. what i appreciate most about his works, fooled by randomness included is that they caused me to think, and rethink my own beliefs and perceptions about life. i felt challenged by the content and relished the opportunity to ponder paragraphs. this is the strength of his writing (in my humble estimation) to cause the reader to think. a worthy read even if you are prone to focus on the impossibly difficult particulars of writing in the english language...
 Randomness fools us all. June 4, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This everyman's introduction to randomness should prove interesting to everyone who invests for profit, fun or retirement. The narrative style conveys the author's point that random spikes or troughs can occur in any investment without warning and that the oft used normal curve does not necessarily model the behavior of investments. It's sort of like saying that the normal wind speed is an accurate model for what could happen in tornado alley on a specific day in the summer.
That being said, there's little guidance for the investor about ameliorating the effects of "black swan" events; the best one can do is expect them and try to avoid being over-extended in yesterday's hot investment when the bottom falls out.
Fooled by Randomness - every day! May 30, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Nassim Nicholas Taleb is an extremely insightful individual with an equally impresive gift for storytelling.
His basic thesis is that although we like to think of our lives as ordered and predictable, they are extremely prey to random chance, and are in fact far far more so than most of us can even understand. We create delusions of predictabilty, mentally rewriting our own history in order to avoid excessive anxiety. He brings a unique perspective as both a genuine thinker and a man of practical experience in one of the most volatile occupational arenas of modern life - the stock market.
I found the autobiographical aspects of this book (both in the first person narrative, and the use of the fictional Nero Tulip) as interesting as its more philosphical and analytical content.
 Avoid this book May 28, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The book is poorly written by a financial trader and money manager. He does a poor job actually answering any of the questions that he poses. He alludes to literary, philosophy and obscure historical figures in an arrogant manner. He comments probably ten times how he despises the wealthy, and yet begins a dozen paragraphs with phrases like, "While i was in London..., or "As i am writing this on a beach in Rio...". He talks about how well read he is, how much he loves to work out, and really does very little in assembling and proving his thesis. I would avoid this book.
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