Miroslav Kruts· 07/02/09 · 04:57 PM

With all due respect to Mr. Taleb's vision and scientific talent (and I'm saying this sincerely, without a shred of irony) he should try less hard to be entertaining on stage and focus more on the subject matter of his speeches. Stories about the best mozzarella, etc. are not exactly why people come to events where he speaks. I mean, such funny bits of irrelevant information could be entertaining if use properly but you have to know how to make them work for the benefit of the subject matter, otherwise they become burden on listeners' ears, and, basically, noise. In Mr. Taleb's case they just don't work, they are a waste of his time and his listeners' money, as well. And that, sadly, makes Mr. Taleb, look not like the Black Swan he wants to be in the crowd of financial visionaries but like a White Crow in a flock of second-rate stand-up comedians.
In that respect Daniel Kahneman is much more interesting speaker.
Hope Mr. Taleb won't find this critique inappropriate.
Miroslav Kruts
St. Petersburg, Russia

michael ahrens Sydney· 12/04/09 · 02:55 AM

The comment by Mr Taleb on VAR and other risk models by Banks needs probing. It is very revealing in the context of this great program. For instance how much were the bankers assessments swayed by the personal /competitive interests of the senior managers (can a case study by ex managers be found), what were the 'other' models besides VAR used in Australia and how true is his comment that if they could not measure a risk or fit it into a model it was not important?
It is like corruption in an industry or a society-the fact that it is often too hard to measure does not diminish its importance!