Fooled
Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Talebby Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Shares rank 91 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it for explaining statistics and randomness at a conceptual level, readable without a technical or educational background.
People recommend it for explaining statistics and randomness at a conceptual level, readable without a technical or educational background.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Explains statistics at a conceptual level
“they are pretty good at explaining statistics to anyone interested in learning the material at a conceptual level”
Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: Would you read a statistics textbook?” Readable regardless of educational background
“anyone can read and understand these books, regardless of their educational background”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “More than half of adults in U.S. say they lack basic statistical understanding” Discusses the topic in depth
“Fooled by Randomness talks a good bit about this, and argues it's true”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “We Have Learned Nothing” Called a great book on the subject
“"Fooled by Randomness" is a great book on this.”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “SpaceX Is Buying Cursor”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Fooledby Randomness by Nassim Nicholas TalebThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“they are pretty good at explaining statistics to anyone interested in learning the material at a conceptual level”
“anyone can read and understand these books, regardless of their educational background”
“"Fooled by Randomness" is a great book on this.”
“Fooled by Randomness talks a good bit about this, and argues it's true”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.