Records are kept by the survivors, so any base rate built from what you can see is biased upward. Fund track records, founder advice and back-tested strategies all suffer from it, because the failures left no trace to count. The fix is to reconstruct the full starting cohort before drawing any conclusion about what works.
How biased samples, chosen averages and cut-off chart axes make numbers mislead.
Recommended by: Bill Gates, Mohnish Pabrai, Morgan Housel and 6 others
Why people mistake luck for skill, above all in markets.
“Fooled by Randomness is a serious, intellectually sophisticated book, well worth reading carefully. At times, the book is condescending. Nevertheless, there are some great insights.” — Barton Biggs
Source: Biggs on a sophisticated book worth reading carefully
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Rare, unforeseen, high-impact events drive history, explained only after the fact.
“The message of The Black Swan is how important it is to realize that the things everyone rules out can still come to pass.” — Howard Marks
Source: Oaktree memo 'The Limits to Negativism'
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How judging firms by their results corrupts most business research and advice.
“Phil Rosenzweig's must-read book, The Halo Effect, shows this idea is alive and well in the business world.” — Michael Mauboussin
Source: Was Harry Potter Inevitable? Cumulative Advantage, Counterfactuals, and the Halo Effect (Legg Mason)
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How to separate skill from luck in business, sport and investing.
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Talent, training and genetics in elite athletic performance
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