Four books....

In the last few months, I have been doing a bit of reading. Here are four books which have helped change my view on things (in no particular order of importance):

1. The Black Swan by Nicholas Nassim Taleb deals with the improbable and is sometimes heavy on philosophy but always radical in its ideas. The predominant idea is that these so called Black Swan events (which are unpredictable, rare and high impact) will occur whether we like it or not. The best one can hope for is to ride the tide. And the book is practical to boot. I mean the author actually employed his theory in his practices as a derivatives trader! For me it was an eye opener and single-handedly shattered the premise of an idea I had been working on for sometime (the Conceptual theory). Guess I'd have to go back to the drawing board [sigh].
2. The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto. Here the former head of the Peruvian central bank tackles the age old myth of poverty in developing countries. He is able to prove that the poor actually possess assets but the problem stems from their inability to convert these assets to capital. His ideas even appear to have close correlates in physics (remember E=mc2?) and perhaps, branding. The book's blurb captures this beautifully when it bemoans the developing and former communist nations' ability to imitate, from the West, everything from the paper clip to nuclear reactors but have failed in successfully copied strategies in elevating the poor above the $2 a day mark. His solution: a formal property system. Want to know more? Then you would just have to read it.
3. The Advent of Money by Niall Ferguson. From the cloak and dagger of the ancient Medici's to the reign of the Rothchild's this historian takes us through the dark corners of history and its parallel universe of finance. Brilliant piece. Opened my eyes to the import of the credit system and helped consolidate my thoughts on the relationship between money and branding.
4. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. The author takes on the curious and goes against the grain here once again. He proves that there is more to success than we care to understand. While not denying the importance of right character, attitude blah blah blah in the success matrix, he finds their causative effects somewhat exaggerated in our minds. He identifies opportunities and legacy as important factors in determining how far we can go. Scary right? Well I guess its (almost) all plain luck.

That's all folks!