Who recommended The Black Swan?

23 people have recommended The Black Swan in the interviews, articles and reading lists we track, including Bill Gates, Naval Ravikant, Nat Eliason and Ryan Holiday. Each name links to their full reading list.

Is The Black Swan worth reading?

23 people we track recommend it. It is best for: A risk analyst in banking who just watched a model break down and needs a gut-check on what their spreadsheets can’t capture.; A startup founder who keeps hearing that their business might be a black swan and wants to think strategically about exposure to extreme outcomes.; A philosophy-curious professional souring on TED-talk certainty and looking for a scrappy, intellectually combative challenge to mainstream social science.. It may not suit: You’ll likely bounce off the author’s tone early if you’re allergic to self-congratulation and name-calling disguised as intellectual rigor.; Skip it if you need a structured, how-to guide for dealing with uncertainty; the book circles around big ideas rather than building a clear system.; You’ll probably put it down when another lengthy, semi-relevant historical parable appears just as you were hoping for a practical takeaway..

What books are like The Black Swan?

Readers of The Black Swan also turn to The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, The World as It Is and Out of Control, based on the lists and recommenders these books share.

The Black Swan: Recommended by 23 People

Name: The Black Swan
Author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
ISBN: 9780141906201

The phenomenal international bestseller that shows us how to stop trying to predict everything - and take advantage of uncertainty What have the invention of the wheel, Pompeii, the Wall Street Crash, Harry Potter and the internet got in common? Why are all forecasters con-artists? Why should you never run for a train or read a newspaper? This book is all about Black Swans: the random events that underlie our lives, from bestsellers to world disasters. Their impact is huge; they're impossible to predict; yet after they happen we always try to rationalize them. 'Taleb is a bouncy and even exhilarating guide ... I came to relish what he said, and even develop a sneaking affection for him as a…