Fooled by Randomness
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
81 people recommended it in 39 threads, 2007–2026.
7 commenters pushed back on it — worth reading the threads.
What people on Hacker News said
Taleb's Incerto series changed how I thought about investing, risk, and life in general.
Poetic, deep, useful, and entertaining. Fantastic. A pleasure to read and listen to in audio while driving/traveling.
The role of chance in everyday life! It plays a big role!
Fooled by Randomness has lots of good analysis of survivorship bias, trend following and other mistaken pattern matching strategies that are hard wired into us, and blind us to the true nature of events.
Changed my life and my perspective on doing business, building company and understanding luck.
I feel like you can derive a lot of his other work if you payed attention in undergraduate probability theory and took Fooled by Randomness to heart.
Where it comes up
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- Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021? 2021 · 4 recommendations
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- Ask HN: What book changed your life? 2022 · 3 recommendations
- Ask HN: Book recommendations for understanding financial systems? 2020 · 3 recommendations
- Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance? 2016 · 3 recommendations
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2015? 2015 · 3 recommendations
- Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011 2011 · 3 recommendations
- Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009? 2010 · 3 recommendations
- Reading list for those who love to learn 2009 · 3 recommendations
- Ask HN: Best books/source to learn about investing? 2008 · 3 recommendations
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2018? 2018 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models? 2017 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier? 2017 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why? 2017 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? 2016 · 2 recommendations
- Alan Kay's reading list 2016 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books. 2009 · 2 recommendations