The Philosophy of Chance: Nassim Taleb's "Fooled by Randomness"   

The Philosophy of Chance: Nassim Taleb's
"Fooled by Randomness"

Is Elon Musk just lucky, or more skillful and hardworking?

Our topic of discussion is the book ‘Fooled By Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets' by professor, statistician and former trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb. It is the first part of a collection of his essays on the nature of uncertainty titled “Incerto”.

As a self-professed fool, Taleb takes us through various thought experiments in a way that is pro-science yet critical of the scientist himself. The book explores the phenomena of rare or black swan events, probability biases and how we might be able to deal with our innate fallibility.

Presenter: Christopher Sharma, BSc (Neuroscience and Physiology), BN (Advanced Studies).

On the second Monday of the month, Philo Agora has a speaker on a philosophical topic and a Q&A and discussion after. On the fourth Monday we meet again for open philosophical discussion.

Philo Agora's format is a talk for 20 minutes starting at 7:15 for 7:30. The presenter then answers any questions of clarification from the floor. We then take a break of 5 minutes for more coffee and to mull over the talk and discuss it within small groups. The microphone is then passed around the audience for comment, opinion, and often counter argument to a maximum of 3 minutes. The presenter is then given a 5 minute right of reply.

We usually finish up at 9pm. The cover charge is $5 for the talk. There are tea and coffee facilities available in-house.

Sam Alexander - Convener (0457 749 310)