Nassim Taleb’s Acclaimed The Black Swan Taught at Belmont University

September 15, 2010 at 6:35 pm Leave a comment

A black swan is a highly improbable event that is unpredictable, carries a massive impact, and later appears more predictable than it was. For scholar and essayist, Nassim Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives.

Why do we not acknowledge these black swans until after they occur? According to Taleb, humans are hardwired to learn specifics when they should be focused on generalities. We concentrate on things we already know and repeatedly fail to consider what we don’t know. We are, therefore, unable to truly estimate opportunities; too vulnerable to the impulse to simplify, narrate, and categorize; and not open enough to rewarding those brave enough to imagine the “impossible.”

The Black Swan, now available in a revised second edition, has been selected for Wellesley Reads 2010 and several colleges, including Belmont University’s Political Science Dept., have adopted the book for courses.

“The Black Swan changed my view of how the world works.”—Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate

“Hugely enjoyable—compelling . . . easy to dip into.”—Financial Times

“Idiosyncratically brilliant.” —Niall Ferguson, Los Angeles Times

To read an excerpt, click here.

For author Q&A, click here.

To order an examination copy, click here.

Entry filed under: Business & Economics, Philosophy, Psychology, Science, Sociology, Uncategorized. Tags: finance, forecasting, information theory, management, Nassim Taleb, philosophy, probability, social aspects, uncertainty.