For the past two weeks, I have tried to read two books with little success. Normally I am able to plow through books, even those I don't particularly care for. But on occasion, I opt to not finish. This would be the case for both of these books.
The first, Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, examines the world of Wall Street trading and how randomness plays a part. I found the writing to be extremely arrogant and condescending, not to mention outright boring. This book was extremely disappointing, especially after reading a review that compared it to Freakonomics (which I found fresh and interesting).
Quotes I came away with {from the parts I read}:
Symobolism is the child of our inability and unwillingness to accept randomness; we give meaning to all manner of shapes; we detect human figures in ink blots. Mild success can be explained by skill and labor. Wild success is attributable to variance.
One cannot judge a performance in any given field (war, politics, medicine, investments) by the results, but by the costs o f the alternative.
Heroes are heroes because they are heroic in behavior, not because they won or lost.
Sensationalism can divert empathy toward wrong causes. (ex. mad cow disease killing less people than car accidents)
"Common sense is nothing but a collection of misconceptions acquired by age 18." - Einstein.
The second book was Moral Clarity by Susan Neiman. I think I picked this up on a recommendation from a blog I read. I wish that I had taken the time to look into what this book was about. In the first chapters, it comes across as a political rant more than a discussion of morals in a modern world. The book snidely proclaims that liberals do not need religion to have morals. I won't pretend to agree with the content of the book, it is one I will not be finishing.
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