From the article you linked: "None of this implies, however, that the existence of outliers undermines modern portfolio theory or asset pricing theory."

In fact, that's exactly what it does. This is what happens when you build houses on top of sand.

He's telling people that "common knowledge" in a particularly despised sector of our economy is not only wrong, but downright idiotic.

And he's presenting it in a way such that Joe the Plumber can feel like he groks it, even if he doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of really understanding what's been happening here.

Not that Taleb's altogether wrong - Eugene Fama may be very aware of the limitations and caveats implicit in risk measurements, but it wasn't Fama that got caught pants down screwing around for billions with an asset class that he didn't understand, was it?

What academics understand about the market often has very little to do with what real traders and banks will do in it. Taleb has valid criticisms against the real players, who were freaking idiots in a lot of ways, but he's presenting them as if they're criticisms against the establishment as a whole, which is a bit unfair, but makes for a good publicity play.

Smart move, if you ask me. Nobody would know or care who the hell he is if he hadn't made such a fuss over this stuff.