March reading retrospective

What follows are brief reviews of books that I finished in March 2021

Books read (finished)

• Fooled by Randomness, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• Nightflyers, George R. R. Martin
• Stillness is the Key, Ryan Holiday

Fooled by Randomness, Nassim Nicholas Taleb

It should escape no-one who has read him, that Nassim Taleb is a superbly smart person and writer. This book, as Taleb points out in the preface, is “straight from the gut” — reflections on randomness (and how we are all fooled by it), provided seemingly effortlessly from a true great of probabilistic thinking.

Taleb is a trader by trade (hehe), as well as a Professor. Thus, one would expect the thinking in this book to be largely based around the market, investing, and trading (which admittedly is one of the reasons I chose to read it). In particular, the market is notoriously prone to randomness and discussions thereof, but Taleb assures us that this isn’t the case; only a few of the chapters center around this. I would advise readers to have at least a cursory overview and/or interest in the market however, to get the most out of this work. You can tell Taleb is a part of this world, as most characters and situations described in this book is at least in some way involved with the market.

So what is the book about? Well, it is mostly comprised of anecdotes and examples from Taleb’s own experiences and thoughts, as they relate to how you (as well as me, and the author himself as he points out) are easily mislead, confused, and generally fooled by instances of randomness and probability. This is rarely presented with judgement or mockingly, but more with humble understanding and explanation, providing context for why one might fall into such traps or situations.

Now this book might as well have been written for me, seeing as I have both interest and knowledge in probability theory, human psychology, and the stock market (fine, call my knowledge on the stock market limited, but that’s hardly the point). As such I found it boundlessly interesting to read about Taleb’s musings and partaking in his experiences and lessons. You do truly get the feeling that Taleb wanted to write this book — it seems almost personal, as if written in some kind of academically intellectual diary. I recommend it immensely, but a word of caution; if you don’t enjoy having preconceived notions (particularly on probability) challenged, it might be a more frustrating read than anything.

Nightflyers, George R. R. Martin

Cards on the table, I don’t read a lot of fiction. But my girlfriend got me this while buying some books, so of course I read it. Besides, it’s from the Game of Thrones guy, people like him right?

Nightflyers is a short and concise sci-fi novel (verging on short story to be honest) which doesn’t include anything superfluous. Martin’s world building style is excellent, opting to give the reader whatever info she needs through the characters’ small talk, skipping tedious explanations and exposition. This also enables the reader to infer whatever she wants herself, making the world seem larger than it actually is, while ignoring unnecessary minutia. Oh right, except one thing.

Martin seems to be obsessed about sex. All the characters’ behaviors seem believable and rational (within the realms of this world), but they all have and talk about sex, where it seemingly is odd to. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-sexuality or anything, but it is unusual how the characters are so flagrantly and nonchalantly openly sexual. It seems sort of like this is an aspect in this fictional universe where Martin wanted to make a statement. Or maybe it’s just me reading too much into it, and I was the psychoanalytical subject of interest all along!

Regardless, Nightflyers is an excellently written and tight book. It works well in its vacuum, not being a vast epic but rather an almost collaboratively effort between writer and reader, to puzzle together the mysterious events and rules of the world it’s set in.

Stillness is the Key, Ryan Holiday

I have been aware of Ryan Holiday for a while, but honestly been reluctant to listen to what he has to say. In my mind his reflections on stoicism and philosophy are too surface-level. Repeating the insights of previous (greater) philosophers if you will, and if that is case, why wouldn’t I just read the original literature? Honestly I can’t recall when it clicked for me (before purchasing the book, or while reading it), that what he’s doing is actually reframing and summarizing said insights into a modern context, which no doubt has value as well.

So there is the premise for this work, really. Holiday wishes to present how the works, actions, and thoughts of historical figures and thinkers can help you, today, in a current context. As the book’s subtitle describes it:

An Ancient Strategy for Modern Life

The book itself is divided into three parts, Mind, Spirit, and Body. Each part is then further divided into chapters, each describing a particular action or behavior Holiday considers to be desirable or preferable (examples include: Limit Your Inputs, Seek Wisdom, Bathe In Beauty, Beware Escapism). He tries to convince you, through anecdotes and metaphors, why you should follow his advice.

Therein lies my main issue with this book — it is far too anecdotal, and slightly repetitive. Most chapters follow the same pattern:

• Present anecdote about famous historical figure
• Introduce how they solved a certain issue, particular habits they had, etc.
• Relate that to the concept of the chapter
• Conclude that following their example is beneficial

I feel I am being needlessly harsh on this book though. In the end, I found a lot of the contents enlightening and relevant for my own life, and I’m sure most people will. In fact, if you were to follow every advice presented here, no doubt you would be a happier person. The question is if you realistically can. Thus I feel (most of) the points Holiday presents are relevant and constructive, but the process of arriving to them might be slightly incomplete.