The impact of the highly improbable is a 2007 book by author and former options trader nassim nicholas taleb. For taleb, a black swan is an exceedingly rare but profoundly consequential event, one that has a determining effect on the course of history and the world economy. In the authors point of view, a black swan is an improbable event with three principal characteristics it is unpredictable. Taleb calls this the black swan theory the book covers subjects.
The impact of the highly improbable unabridged by nassim nicholas taleb paid audiobooks best sellers. The hubris of predictions and our perpetual surprise when the notpredicted happens are themes of nassim nicholas talebs engaging new book, the black swan. Nassim nicholas taleb explores in the black swan the problems of perception caused in people by random, unexpected events such as 911, which have an enormous impact on humanity and which people try to explain to no avail. May 21, 2007 author nassim nicholas taleb discusses his theory about events he calls black swans occurrences that seem to be totally impossible. Chris anderson, editor in chief of wired, author of the long tail. Black swan author nassim nicholas taleb divides the world. Jun 22, 2008 for taleb, a black swan is an exceedingly rare but profoundly consequential event, one that has a determining effect on the course of history and the world economy.
Author nassim nicholas taleb discusses his book, the black swan in relation to predicting the future, learning from the consequences of the unknown, and the power of randomness. Taleb is a vastly entertaining writer, with wit, irreverence, and unusual stories to tell. He used to be a trader, but is currently distinguished professor of risk engineering at new york university. Nassim taleb, universa investments scientific advisor and distinguished professor of risk engineering at nyu, warned of an acute virus spreading throughout the planet in his 2007 book the black swan. A map of the limits of statistics by nassim nicholas taleb an edge original essay 9. Mar 24, 2008 author nassim nicholas taleb discusses his book, the black swan in relation to predicting the future, learning from the consequences of the unknown, and the power of randomness. Author nassim nicholas taleb discusses his theory about events he calls black swans occurrences that seem to be totally impossible.
Chris anderson, editor in chief of wired, author of the long tail idiosyncratically brilliant. The book focuses on the extreme impact of rare and unpredictable outlier events and the human tendency to find simplistic explanations for these events, retrospectively. Sometimes i wonder if some of the citations and due to the black swan meme. Taleb shows that black swans, like 911, cannot be foreseen and have an immeasurable impact. Its a fantastic book for helping you get to know each other better and prevent you from falling into rational pitfalls in. The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary. Taleb has made his living and a small fortune, perhaps transformed into a large fortune by the 2008 market in an unusual wayby financial speculation in contexts in which he spots a small chance of making a very large gain. Aug 27, 2017 the black swan summary by nassim nicholas taleb is an insightful classic which sets new boundaries when it comes to understanding life. The impact of the highly improbable by naseem nicholas taleb this books deal with the impact of extreme events, the outliers, unpredictable, unfathomable, rare and random episodes.
But it was his second book, the black swan, which brought taleb attention on a global scale. Elegant, startling, and universal in its applications, the black swan is a landmark bookitself a black swan. The book s central thesis, that the statistical models beloved by mai nstream. Elegant, startling, and universal in its applications, the black swan is a landmark book itself a black swan. Nassim nicholas taleb nassim nicholas taleb, the bestselling author, trader and academic has criticised those who describe the ongoing covid19 pandemic as a black swan and condemned the us governments recent stimulus measures. May 11, 2010 the black swan has appealing cheek and admirable ambition. The impact of the highly improbable paperback 28 feb 2008.
The black swan quotes showing of 466 the writer umberto eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful, and nondull. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and. Taleb has made his living and a small fortune, now transformed into a large fortune by the 2008 market in an unusual way by financial speculation in contexts where he spots a small chance of making a very large gain. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. Nassim talebs black swan explained in this video youll learn about black swan theory, which the famous author and quant trader nassim taleb made popular. Oct, 2009 in the authors point of view, a black swan is an improbable event with three principal characteristics it is unpredictable. In the course of 400 pages, nassim taleb discourses amusingly and eruditely on black swans and the human reaction to them, which isnt always logical. Praise for nassim nicholas taleb the most prophetic voice of all.
Nassim taleb is a literary essayist, hedge fund manager, derivatives trader and professor of risk engineering at the polytechnic institute of new york university. He is the author of fooled by randomness and the black swan, which has spent more than a year on the new york times bestseller list and has become an intellectual, social, and cultural touchstone. He is the owner of a large personal library containing thirty thousand books, and separates visitors into two categories. Accelerate the way you evolve boost your life and career with the best book summaries. Apr 30, 2007 taleb is a vastly entertaining writer, with wit, irreverence, and unusual stories to tell. Nassim taleb is a wall street trader who has written one technical book dynamic hedging, 1997 and two books for general audiences fooled by randomness in 2001 and the black swan in 2007a on the impact of uncertaintyparticularly about rare eventsin various aspects of life, including history, finance and the arts. See more ideas about nassim nicholas taleb, fooled by randomness and black swan book. Taleb is the author of the black swan, the book about, as the subtitle puts it, the impact of the highly improbable. A black swan is an unpredictable, rare, but nevertheless highimpact event. The black swan pdf summary nassim nicholas taleb 12min blog. The impact of the highly improbable the incerto collection nn taleb. But when dutch explorers finally saw black swans for the first time in western australia, the term. Bestselling author nassim nicholas taleb continues his exploration of randomness in his fascinating new book, the black swan, in which he examines the influence of highly improbable and unpredictable events that have massive impact. Nassim nicholas taleb, born in 1960, spends most of his time as a flaneur, meditating in cafes across the planet.
May 11, 2010 the black swan is a landmark bookitself a black swan. The black swan pdf summary nassim nicholas taleb 12min. The other books in the series are fooled by randomness, antifragile, skin in the game, and the bed of procrustes. In other words, a place more resistant to black swans. Nassim nicholas taleb a black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics. Sep 28, 2016 nassim taleb calls an event a black swan if its unpredictable not because its random, but because our outlook on whats possible was too narrow. May 02, 2018 nassim talebs black swan explained in this video youll learn about black swan theory, which the famous author and quant trader nassim taleb made popular. The author of the black swan is nassim nicholas taleb, who spends a lot of his time relaxing in different places all over the world. The black swan is a standalone book in nassim nicholas talebs landmark incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decisionmaking in a world we dont understand.
Not all swans are white, and not all events, no matter what the experts think, are predictable. As with others who have had unusual careers say, neil armstrong or marcel. Maverick thinker nassim nicholas taleb had an illustrious career on wall street before turning his focus to his black swan theory. Gq praise for the black swan a book that altered modern thinking. The impact of the highly improbable quotes nassim taleb this study guide consists of approximately 34 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the black swan. Read fooled by randomness, the black swan and antiflagileim currently reading it and enjoy his almost arrogantly presented yet smart ideas. Ten principles for a blackswanrobust world by nassim. The black swan is a standalone book in nassim nicholas taleb s landmark incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decisionmaking in a world we dont understand.
A number of books on probability i have read recently talk about nassim talebs book, the black swan. The name stems from the fact that up until 1697, mankind believed all swans were white. Nassim nicholas taleb first made this argument in fooled by randomness, an engaging look at the history and reasons for our predilection for selfdeception when it comes to statistics. Read bed of procrustes and enjoy his mind blowing oneliners. Their combined citations are counted only for the first article. Fooled by randomness, the black swan, the bed of procrustes, antifragile, skin in the game. We dont learn rules, just facts we tend to learn the precise, not the general 4. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Once upon a time there was a clever young financial professional called nassim nicholas taleb. As nassim taleb describes it, a black swan is an event that displays three key properties, the two most important of which are that.
The black swan is a landmark bookitself a black swan. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. Major wars, stock market crashes, volcanism, the industrial revolution, and the computer revolution are all examples, some negative, others positive, but none were predictable. A profound look into the meaning and implications of improbable yet meaningful events a turkey spends each day eating well for a year, being cared for by a farmer whose actions seem to have the turkeys best interest at heart. Originally pubished under the title ten principles for a black swanproof worl by, april 7, 2009 edge link. The most valuable takeaway message is that history does not always prepare us for the future taleb uses the example of turkeys and christmas.
Black swan author nassim nicholas taleb divides the world into three. Nassim nicholas taleb s the black swan is a fascinating but deeply flawed book. Engaging and enlightening, the black swan is a book that may change the way you think about the world, a book that chris anderson calls, a. The concept is easily demonstrated and well known but naming these events as black swans was popularised by nassim nicholas taleb in his book of the same name, which was described in the sunday times as one of the 12 most influential books since the second world war. Apr 22, 2007 the hubris of predictions and our perpetual surprise when the notpredicted happens are themes of nassim nicholas talebs engaging new book, the black swan. He has a polymathic command of subjects ranging from cognitive science to business to probability theory. Nassim taleb calls an event a black swan if its unpredictable not because its random, but because our outlook on whats possible was too narrow.