Books with title The Black Spot

The Black Swan is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand. The other books in the series are Fooled by Randomness, Antifragile, Skin in the Game, and The Bed of Procrustes.A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9/11. For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives. Why do we not acknowledge the phenomenon of black swans until after they occur? Part of the answer, according to Taleb, is that humans are hardwired to learn specifics when they should be focused on generalities. We concentrate on things we already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what we don’t know. We are, therefore, unable to truly estimate opportunities, too vulnerable to the impulse to simplify, narrate, and categorize, and not open enough to rewarding those who can imagine the “impossible.” For years, Taleb has studied how we fool ourselves into thinking we know more than we actually do. We restrict our thinking to the irrelevant and inconsequential, while large events continue to surprise us and shape our world. In this revelatory book, Taleb explains everything we know about what we don’t know, and this second edition features a new philosophical and empirical essay, “On Robustness and Fragility,” which offers tools to navigate and exploit a Black Swan world. Elegant, startling, and universal in its applications, The Black Swan will change the way you look at the world. Taleb is a vastly entertaining writer, with wit, irreverence, and unusual stories to tell. He has a polymathic command of subjects ranging from cognitive science to business to probability theory. The Black Swan is a landmark book—itself a black swan. Praise for Nassim Nicholas Taleb “The most prophetic voice of all.”—GQ Praise for The Black Swan “[A book] that altered modern thinking.”—The Times (London) “A masterpiece.”—Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired, author of The Long Tail “Idiosyncratically brilliant.”—Niall Ferguson, Los Angeles Times “The Black Swan changed my view of how the world works.”—Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate “[Taleb writes] in a style that owes as much to Stephen Colbert as it does to Michel de Montaigne. . . . We eagerly romp with him through the follies of confirmation bias [and] narrative fallacy.”—The Wall Street Journal “Hugely enjoyable—compelling . . . easy to dip into.”—Financial Times “Engaging . . . The Black Swan has appealing cheek and admirable ambition.”—The New York Times Book Review

“The Black Box is not a tale of a great man. This story is about someone like you: a human being endeavoring to make tomorrow better than today. Each chapter recounts a formative experience and concludes with a Black Box: an explanation of how a given situation helped me develop the mindset required to thrive in that type of environment.An airplane’s black box records flight data as well as the voices and radio transmissions in the cockpit of the airliner. When an airplane crashes engineers look into the black box to learn about what went wrong. However, black boxes also have stories of success, but they are rarely referenced for those narratives.Your black box is filled with helpful memories, but so often you fail to look into your black box to pull wisdom from it. Sometimes we avoid looking into our black box because it means seeing our hardships replayed, seeing things that cause us fear and pain. As you peer into my black box, it will inspire you to look into your black box. Our black boxes are filled with explanations of why we crash as well as stories of how we have soared above turbulence. Most of these chapters have been developed as self encapsulated stories from which a moral can be drawn without reference to previous chapters. I share the story of my life knowing that my achievements outstrip those of the average person only by a modest margin. The validity of this work lies in the distance between my starting point and where I stand today. This book is about you. It should drive you to consult your black box as you adventure through life.

The Black Box is not a tale of a great man. This story is about someone like you: a human being endeavoring to make tomorrow better than today. Each chapter recounts a formative experience and concludes with a 'Black Box': an explanation of how a given situation helped me develop the mindset required to thrive in that type of environment.An airplane's black box records all circumstantial things occurring around and within the aircraft, as well as the voices (and radio transmissions) in the head of the airliner. When an airplane crashes engineers look into the black box to study what went wrong. However, black boxes also have stories of success, but we rarely look to them for those narratives. Memories, like a black box, are nearly permanent records. Black boxes are stored in reinforced shells designed to survive 30 minutes in 2000-degree Fahrenheit heat as well as submersion in 20,000 feet deep water.Your black box is filled with helpful memories, but so often you fail to look into your black box to pull wisdom from it. Sometimes we do not want to open the black box and look in because it means seeing our hardships replayed, seeing things that cause us fear and pain. As you peer into my black box, it will inspires you to look into your own. Our black boxes are filled with explanations of why we crash as well as stories of how we have soared above turbulence.Most of these chapters have been developed as self encapsulated stories from which a moral can be drawn without reference to previous chapters. I share the story of my life knowing that my achievements outstrip those of the average person by only a modest margin. The validity of this work lies in the distance between my starting point and where I stand today. This book is about you. It should drive you to consult your black box as you adventure through life, and to use the experience, strength and resolve that you already have to make your journey easier and more enjoyable.

"All the guests were dressed as gangsters, and their millionaire host was dead in the library with a black spot over his heart. Then the Black Spot struck again. And again. The Man of Bronze and his courageous crew leap into action against Jingles Sporado and his mob, but they soon suspect a peril greater than any they have ever confronted. * To the world at large, Doc Savage is a strange, mysterious figure of glistening bronze skin and golden eyes. To his amazing co-adventurers - the five greatest brains ever assembled in one group - he is a man of superhuman strength and protean genius, whose life is dedicated to the destruction of evil-doers. To his fans he is one of the greatest adventure heroes of all time, whose fantastic exploits are unequaled for hair-raising thrills, breathtaking escapes and bloodcurdling excitement."

Now in paperback, the second installment of a haunting trilogy from New York Times bestselling master of suspense D. J. MacHale.At the end of The Light, Book One of the Morpheus Road trilogy, Marshall uncovered the truth about what happened to his best friend Cooper. Now in Book Two, we get Cooper’s perspective. What does his story have to do with Marshall and the journey along the Morpheus Road? It’s time to learn more….From a master of suspense, this fantastical tale contains shocking twists and will take readers down a dark path of discovery that will leave them clamoring for the trilogy’s conclusion!

Fashionable Londoner James Morlake is a gentleman with many secrets and several particularly valuable skills--like terrorizing bankers across the city. His Moorish servant Mahmet has some secrets to hide as well, particularly when his employer gives him the odd task to perform in the dead of night in dark London. Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (April 1, 1875-February 10, 1932) was a prolific British crime writer, journalist and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and countless articles in newspapers and journals. Over 160 films have been made of his novels, more than any other author. In the 1920s, one of Wallace's publishers claimed that a quarter of all books read in England were written by him. He is most famous today as the co-creator of "King Kong", writing the early screenplay and story for the movie, as well as a short story "King Kong" (1933) credited to him and Draycott Dell. He was known for the J. G. Reeder detective stories, The Four Just Men, the Ringer, and for creating the Green Archer character during his lifetime.

At the end of The Light, Book One of the Morpheus Road trilogy, Marshall learned the truth about what happened to his best friend Cooper. Now in Book Two, the POV switches to Cooper and we get to see his side of the mystery. What does his story have to do with Marshall and the journey along the Morpheus Road? Shocking twists are revealed with this latest fantastical story from a master of suspense!

Just a guy and a girl… and a million viewers.Kendra Bishop is so frustrated with her conservative parents that she agrees to swap families as part of a reality TV show called The Black Sheep. Leaving Manhattan behind, she joins the free-spirited Mulligans in Monterey, California, along with their five kids, a pet ferret and an ever-present camera crew.Just down the hall is her hot new TV “brother,” Mitch, who initially wants nothing to do with the show or Kendra. But when she embraces the family’s environmental cause at the aquarium, he warms up … at least until Judy, the show’s scheming producer, shamelessly exploits their budding romance for ratings.With the nation watching, can Kendra outwit Judy and discover the true meaning of love and family? Can she ever go home again, even if she wants to?Get this clean, funny and touching fish-out-of-water tale now! ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Looking for more sweet and sassy rom-coms? Count on Yvonne and Sandy to capture the heartwarming humor of first love ♥ in their books:Girl v. Boy: A Romantic ComedyThe Black Sheep: A Romantic ComedyLove, Inc.Bad for Business (Love, Inc. #2)Vivien Leigh Reid Series (Acts 1, 2 and 3)Vivien Leigh Reid Collection (Boxed Set)The Rom-Com Collection (Boxed Set – 7 books)Reviews“Compelling reading… The interspersed, dueling columns are snappy and edgy, and they empower Luisa and her friends to examine priorities in relationships, learning, and life. This enjoyable, thought-provoking battle of the sexes highlights literacy’s importance and the power of the written word to hurt, heal, and inspire.” ~ Booklist“…a strong voice and quirky characters keep the plot moving… Smart dialogue and realistic scenes add to the story’s appeal.” ~ Kirkus Reviews“… a fun and saucy romp. The pace is lively, and the vocabulary is intelligent. Imaginative new events pop up in each chapter, making this book hard to predict and hard to put down. In addition, sexy flirtations run through the story like a Valentine-red ribbon.” ~ Children’s LiteratureAbout the AuthorsYvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout have been making readers laugh out loud with their romantic comedies for many years. Join their newsletter for humor, hijinks and a sign-up gift.Sandy Rideout is also the author of the “Dog Town” series of romantic comedies:Bitter and Sweet in Dog TownA Match Made in Dog TownLost and Found in Dog TownCalm and Bright in Dog TownTried and True in Dog TownYours and Mine in Dog TownNine Lives in Dog TownGreat and Small in Dog Town