Title: A key topic but a weak book
Product review: Taleb makes some valid observations on most peoples' weak skills at understanding randomness. But these are fairly simple, and described well elsewhere. And, what a bore Taleb is! He opens the book with one Nero Tulip (a weak pun on his own name) and then spends most of the book arrogantly and humorlessly talking about himself. He aspires to intellectualism, and drops more names than I can count. Some he idolizes, others he treats with extreme contempt. The second part of the book is a discombobulated collection of platitudes. Random, without a discernible signal, like most of what he tells us we shouldn't be reading. There is a thinly veiled promotion of his hedge fund (if "all the quants" use poor tools and misunderstand randomness, where does his wisdom come from?) An inelegant book that includes a lecture on personal elegance.There is little of substance here. Save your money and time.
Would you say this review depicts the product in a flattering or unflattering light?
