Each of the three parts of the book begins with its own prelude. What effect do these have on how the reader processes the subject matter that follows?

Evaluate Taleb’s position toward the media, specifically financial commentators both in print and on television. What is his rationale for taking such a decisive position? Do you share his view? Why or why not?

Taleb appreciates literature and poetry. He says, “All my life I have suffered the conflict between my love of literature and poetry and my profound allergy to most teachers of literature and ‘critics’” (27). Based on the opinions and philosophies Taleb expresses elsewhere in the book, how do you interpret this statement?