Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 119
 Embracing Chaos August 11, 2009
Larry Underwood (Scottsdale, AZ)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Leonard Mlodinow has compiled a fascinating study of life's chaotic randomness & our struggle to restore order when that endeavor is usually futile. The best recourse: Embrace chaos; don't be overwhelmed by it.
Human beings typically want order in their lives. Sometimes, thanks to a random series of orderly events, that happens. However, oftentimes life is anything but orderly; those who choose to create opportunity from catastrophe seem to benefit the most. I can relate to that from personal experience. Years ago, fresh out of college, I was working for a company that laid me off after only three months on the job. I randomly wandered into an employment agency who randomly sent me on a job interview with a random car rental company. I got the job, spent 26 productive years with them, made a bunch of money & retired early.
Had I managed to survive with my first job, I'd probably still be working 9 to 5 & wouldn't be sitting here typing this review. Thank you, randomness; I'm a satisfied customer.
I even wrote a book about my random career & my experience in corporate America. You may randomly choose to buy the book on Amazon & it may at least give you a few random laughs: Life Under the Corporate Microscope: A Maverick's Irreverent Perspective
 Quick read, wanted more detail August 11, 2009
K. A. Olson (Columbia Heights, MN United States)
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I enjoyed the cases presented, but I am not one of those people that can learn through case study, so by the end of the book, I don't think I could apply the lessons discussed in the book to anything else.
I would have liked to see some equations in the book, but he must have kow-towed to editors advice to not do that. This is a book that desparately needed equations. Or at least some explanation of how to generalize the tools to other issues.
But it was a fun, light read, that could have been excellent with a little more how-to rather than examples, enjoyable though they are.
This book is great August 8, 2009
Justin Z. Smith
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book not only expertly summarizes randomness, but also encapsulates a superior worldview/philosophy for living, that of thinking more about the importance of randomness. Once you "get it", the examples are observable everywhere.
Interesting July 30, 2009
Alexander Zelvin
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I recently go the audio CD of The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives. This is the first audio CD that I've 'read', so I don't have much to compare it to. That said, I'm finding it entertaining and somewhat informative. If you already have a basic knowledge of probability and statistics, you're not going to learn a lot of practically applicable new information though, as the book focuses mainly on history and interesting examples of the principles it discusses.
Fun and compelling July 24, 2009
D Berger (Denver Colorado)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great book, really gave me another way of looking at the world. A must-read. Keeps you laughing too
Showing reviews 16-20 of 119
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