[ Disclaimer: There is evidence that Rolf Dobelli plagiarized many ideas from Nassim Taleb’s published books and unpublished manuscripts. You can read about that at Fooled by Randomness. ]
Now I know what to buy everyone I know for Christmas. Sorry to ruin the surprise.
But seriously: I read this book in two days and I have to admit I’m not intellectually competent enough to retain any of it. So I’m going to read it again. And again. I’ve promised myself to keep it around at all times until I’m less stupid.
The good news? It’s easy to read. Broken up into little pieces, well-organized. Like Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.
The Art of Thinking Clearly contains 99 ways my thinking is not clear. Cognitive biases, etc. Exactly what I need. I found it at a book store in Santa Barbara (Chaucers) after asking if they had anything about “logic” and “thinking.” I want to become a better decision maker, and this is how I plan to do it.
Plenty of references inside to Charlie Munger, too. And the Cialdini book. Except this one isn’t blatantly about how to trick people.
I think it’s the most valuable book I’ve read since The Outsider by Colin Wilson.
-Carl.