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Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
EXPANDED THIRD EDITION includes Charlie's 2007 USC Law School Commencement address. Edited by Peter D. Kaufman. Brand New.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
6,115 people are currently reading
56k people want to read
About the author
Charles T. Munger
14 books818 followersCharles Thomas Munger is an American business magnate, lawyer, investor, and philanthropist. He is Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, the diversified investment corporation chaired by Warren Buffett; in this capacity, Buffett describes Charlie Munger as "my partner." Munger served as chairman of Wesco Financial Corporation from 1984 through 2011 (Wesco was approximately 80%-owned by Berkshire-Hathaway during that time). He is also the chairman of the Daily Journal Corporation, based in Los Angeles, California, and a director of Costco Wholesale Corporation.
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May 3, 2020
Poor Charlie got on my list because Drew Houston of Dropbox said it was one of the best books he had ever read. After blasting through it, I can understand why he said so, but I’m not sure I agree with him.
This is a book that talks a lot about how great and wise Charlie Munger is, but comes up a bit short in the actual wisdom-dispensing department. The one-liner for this book is basically “Be wise, don’t fool yourself, and make the right decisions.” Thanks Charlie. I’ll get right on that.
There wasn’t anything mind-blowing in here. Munger’s advice is typically Midwestern-style morality like “be reliable”, “be honest”, “be patient” with a dash of chaos theory and psychology. He’s big into synthesis and this book is itself an entertaining synthesis of business, history, philosophy, and psychology. There are a couple gems in here that I’ve pulled out in the quotes below.
Also, potential readers should be forewarned - this is an enormous coffee-table-style book. You can’t get it on Kindle or even on Amazon. You have to buy it straight from some weird publishing house’s website. And it’s expensive - I bought mine for like $80 or something. A bit ridiculous if you ask me!
A final note… there’s an Easter Egg in here for any Yalies reading. Munger has a picture of Yale’s Hall of Graduate Studies building in his section on “Critique of Academia: Fatal Disconnectedness” and 2 pages later has a picture of him reading Paul Kennedy’s “Rise and Fall of the Great Powers”... I’m not sure he or his editor were quite aware of what they were doing!
Full review and highlights at http://books.max-nova.com/poor-charlies/
This is a book that talks a lot about how great and wise Charlie Munger is, but comes up a bit short in the actual wisdom-dispensing department. The one-liner for this book is basically “Be wise, don’t fool yourself, and make the right decisions.” Thanks Charlie. I’ll get right on that.
There wasn’t anything mind-blowing in here. Munger’s advice is typically Midwestern-style morality like “be reliable”, “be honest”, “be patient” with a dash of chaos theory and psychology. He’s big into synthesis and this book is itself an entertaining synthesis of business, history, philosophy, and psychology. There are a couple gems in here that I’ve pulled out in the quotes below.
Also, potential readers should be forewarned - this is an enormous coffee-table-style book. You can’t get it on Kindle or even on Amazon. You have to buy it straight from some weird publishing house’s website. And it’s expensive - I bought mine for like $80 or something. A bit ridiculous if you ask me!
A final note… there’s an Easter Egg in here for any Yalies reading. Munger has a picture of Yale’s Hall of Graduate Studies building in his section on “Critique of Academia: Fatal Disconnectedness” and 2 pages later has a picture of him reading Paul Kennedy’s “Rise and Fall of the Great Powers”... I’m not sure he or his editor were quite aware of what they were doing!
Full review and highlights at http://books.max-nova.com/poor-charlies/
October 3, 2011
I'm not gonna praise Munger's wisdom again. Other reviewers did the job very well. After having read both books, Poor Charlie's Almanack and Seeking Wisdom, I highly recommend starting with Seeking Wisdom. It's shorter without lacking depth nor scope, but gives a great 'introduction' into Munger's (and Buffet's) way of thinking. Straight to the point. After reading Seeking Wisdom you probably long for more Munger wisdom. Then go for Poor Charlie's Almanack. Enjoy reading, re-reading ... and soak the wisdom of one of the finest thinkers ever walked on this planet.
March 30, 2012
Best known as Warren Buffett’s long-time and media-shy investment partner, and as the progenitor of pithy wisdom at Berkshire Hathaway’s AGMs, “Poor Charlie’s Almanack - The Collected Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger” is an entertaining, gorgeous and worthwhile coffee table book for finance philosophers and biography aficionados alike. The title is drawn from Ben Franklin’s similarly titled Poor Richard’s Almanack, whom Mr. Munger references liberally.
The early pages cover Munger’s family history, his framework for investing [wait for the fat pitches, and assess each opportunity using rational, rigorous frameworks drawn from multiple disciplines (and not finance theory!)], and even some warm testaments from family, friends and colleagues. The next section, assembled by leading investor Whitney Tilson, is well edited and benefits from Tilson’s massaging of quotations made over time into logical sub-headings. The bulk of the text though is, as the subtitle suggests, the wit and wisdom of Mr. Munger as conveyed through various speeches in the last couple decade or so before 2006.
On the false precision of Wall Street quants, and on life in general, Munger says, “People calculate too much and think too little.”
On derivatives: “The system is almost insanely irresponsible.” “I’ll be amazed if we don’t have some kind of significant [derivatives-related} blowup in the next five to ten years.”
For investors unable or unwilling to follow his central (and repeated) advice and develop multiple mental models through which to assess risks and opportunities, indexing is his preferred option. In his opinion, both academic theory and Wall Street fail retail investors, and while indexing is far better than the alternative flawed approaches (which mostly benefit Wall Street and not investors), he has specific advice for those wishing to best the averages.
“The idea that it is hard to find good investments, so concentrate in a few, seems to me to be an obviously good idea.” “But 98% of the investment world doesn’t think this way.“ “Beta and modern portfolio theory and the like - none of it makes any sense to me.” “The idea of excessive diversification is madness.”
“One of the worst examples of what physics envy did to economics was cause adoption of hard-form efficient market theory.” A pithy summary of how off-track stock market valuations ultimately became in the CDS, CDO and other acronym fuelled excesses of the housing bubble. False precision based on physics envy, destined to recur, and a central reason why the two percent, like Munger and Buffett, are able to beat the market.
Munger’s 2000 speech predicting “The Great Financial Scandal of 2003” is both witty and insightful about the then recent excesses of the dot.com boom and what eventually brought down companies such as Enron and WorldCom.
The book concludes with a longer text weaving together Mr. Munger’s ideas, and finally an interesting and appropriately esoteric reading list. Though it will likely have a narrow readership, this book is a rare combination of insight, wit, and achievement, strung together with very capable editing and a interesting and visually appealing layout.
The early pages cover Munger’s family history, his framework for investing [wait for the fat pitches, and assess each opportunity using rational, rigorous frameworks drawn from multiple disciplines (and not finance theory!)], and even some warm testaments from family, friends and colleagues. The next section, assembled by leading investor Whitney Tilson, is well edited and benefits from Tilson’s massaging of quotations made over time into logical sub-headings. The bulk of the text though is, as the subtitle suggests, the wit and wisdom of Mr. Munger as conveyed through various speeches in the last couple decade or so before 2006.
On the false precision of Wall Street quants, and on life in general, Munger says, “People calculate too much and think too little.”
On derivatives: “The system is almost insanely irresponsible.” “I’ll be amazed if we don’t have some kind of significant [derivatives-related} blowup in the next five to ten years.”
For investors unable or unwilling to follow his central (and repeated) advice and develop multiple mental models through which to assess risks and opportunities, indexing is his preferred option. In his opinion, both academic theory and Wall Street fail retail investors, and while indexing is far better than the alternative flawed approaches (which mostly benefit Wall Street and not investors), he has specific advice for those wishing to best the averages.
“The idea that it is hard to find good investments, so concentrate in a few, seems to me to be an obviously good idea.” “But 98% of the investment world doesn’t think this way.“ “Beta and modern portfolio theory and the like - none of it makes any sense to me.” “The idea of excessive diversification is madness.”
“One of the worst examples of what physics envy did to economics was cause adoption of hard-form efficient market theory.” A pithy summary of how off-track stock market valuations ultimately became in the CDS, CDO and other acronym fuelled excesses of the housing bubble. False precision based on physics envy, destined to recur, and a central reason why the two percent, like Munger and Buffett, are able to beat the market.
Munger’s 2000 speech predicting “The Great Financial Scandal of 2003” is both witty and insightful about the then recent excesses of the dot.com boom and what eventually brought down companies such as Enron and WorldCom.
The book concludes with a longer text weaving together Mr. Munger’s ideas, and finally an interesting and appropriately esoteric reading list. Though it will likely have a narrow readership, this book is a rare combination of insight, wit, and achievement, strung together with very capable editing and a interesting and visually appealing layout.
November 28, 2014
Munger's book is called an almanack for a reason, since it's not really an autobiography of the legendary investor, not really an investment guide, not really anything easy to categorize. I would call it a portrait of a remarkable mind.
As Munger sees it, we could do worse than to emulate Albert Einstein, who once said his successful theories came from "curiosity, concentration, perseverance, and self-criticism." Consequently, many of the stories in Poor Charlie's Amanack focus on the cultivation these traits.
Munger suggests that much of success in life isn't about having great strokes of genius; rather, it's about avoiding folly. We need to avoid addiction, avoid envy and resentment, avoid toxic and dishonest people, avoid making disastrous mistakes.
"People calculate too much and think too little," Munger says. "Part of [having uncommon sense] is being able to tune out folly, as opposed to recognizing wisdom. If you bat away many things, you don't clutter yourself."
But it's not enough to avoid disaster. Recognizing wisdom is important, too. Munger points out that anyone capable of reading critically can drill into the content of their library for usable ideas. We have the priceless benefit of other people's experience, conveniently compiled into books, so why should we learn all of life's hard lessons ourselves?
"We read a lot," Munger says, speaking of himself and his partner Warren Buffett. "I don't know anyone who's wise who doesn't read a lot. But that's not enough: you have to have a temperament to grab ideas and do sensible things. Most people don't grab the right ideas or don't know what to do with them."
Warren Buffett has called Munger "the abominable no-man" because of his tendency to reject investment opportunities he deemed mediocre. Munger would patiently sit on tens of millions of dollars for months or years, waiting for the right opportunity to come along. "It takes character," Munger notes,"to sit there with all that cash and do nothing. I didn't get to where I am by going after mediocre opportunities."
Ultimately, patience and preparation are the dual keys to his success. "Our game is to recognize a big idea when it comes along, when it doesn't come along very often. Opportunity comes to the prepared mind."
This strikes me as good advice, whether you're an investor or a poet. Your goal shouldn't be to throw stuff at the wall in the hopes of seeing what sticks. You should be working hard in a focused way, putting your best efforts into your best ideas. When you find something that really matters, go all in.
In terms of investing, this concept of saving your attention for the big idea is developed further by the image of the twenty-hole punch card. Paraphrasing Buffett, Munger says: "I could improve your ultimate financial welfare by giving you a ticket with only twenty slots in it...representing all the investments you got to make in a lifetime. Once you'd punched through the card, you couldn't make any more investments at all. Under those rules, you'd really think carefully about what you did....so you'd do so much better." Good advice for a buy-and-hold investor, but also good advice in general. It's better to do twenty things that you've analyzed carefully, than to do hundreds of things that you haven't thought much about.
Munger urges readers to be self-aware. Know your own "circle of competence." For example, if you don't really understand how high-tech companies make money, you shouldn't be buying their stock. Don't follow like sheep without knowing where or why. "You have to figure out what your own aptitudes are," Munger says, explaining his own avoidance of many high-tech investments. "If you play games where other people have the aptitudes and you don't, you're going to lose."
The second half of Poor Charlie's Almanack consists of speeches that Munger has given over the years. Here's a representative exhortation to college students: "Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. But you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts."
This reminds me of the "10,000 hour rule" for achieving mastery. It's easy to get discouraged when you don't see fast progress, but the discipline of steady effort prepares you for those spurts when your efforts will pay off.
As Munger sees it, we could do worse than to emulate Albert Einstein, who once said his successful theories came from "curiosity, concentration, perseverance, and self-criticism." Consequently, many of the stories in Poor Charlie's Amanack focus on the cultivation these traits.
Munger suggests that much of success in life isn't about having great strokes of genius; rather, it's about avoiding folly. We need to avoid addiction, avoid envy and resentment, avoid toxic and dishonest people, avoid making disastrous mistakes.
"People calculate too much and think too little," Munger says. "Part of [having uncommon sense] is being able to tune out folly, as opposed to recognizing wisdom. If you bat away many things, you don't clutter yourself."
But it's not enough to avoid disaster. Recognizing wisdom is important, too. Munger points out that anyone capable of reading critically can drill into the content of their library for usable ideas. We have the priceless benefit of other people's experience, conveniently compiled into books, so why should we learn all of life's hard lessons ourselves?
"We read a lot," Munger says, speaking of himself and his partner Warren Buffett. "I don't know anyone who's wise who doesn't read a lot. But that's not enough: you have to have a temperament to grab ideas and do sensible things. Most people don't grab the right ideas or don't know what to do with them."
Warren Buffett has called Munger "the abominable no-man" because of his tendency to reject investment opportunities he deemed mediocre. Munger would patiently sit on tens of millions of dollars for months or years, waiting for the right opportunity to come along. "It takes character," Munger notes,"to sit there with all that cash and do nothing. I didn't get to where I am by going after mediocre opportunities."
Ultimately, patience and preparation are the dual keys to his success. "Our game is to recognize a big idea when it comes along, when it doesn't come along very often. Opportunity comes to the prepared mind."
This strikes me as good advice, whether you're an investor or a poet. Your goal shouldn't be to throw stuff at the wall in the hopes of seeing what sticks. You should be working hard in a focused way, putting your best efforts into your best ideas. When you find something that really matters, go all in.
In terms of investing, this concept of saving your attention for the big idea is developed further by the image of the twenty-hole punch card. Paraphrasing Buffett, Munger says: "I could improve your ultimate financial welfare by giving you a ticket with only twenty slots in it...representing all the investments you got to make in a lifetime. Once you'd punched through the card, you couldn't make any more investments at all. Under those rules, you'd really think carefully about what you did....so you'd do so much better." Good advice for a buy-and-hold investor, but also good advice in general. It's better to do twenty things that you've analyzed carefully, than to do hundreds of things that you haven't thought much about.
Munger urges readers to be self-aware. Know your own "circle of competence." For example, if you don't really understand how high-tech companies make money, you shouldn't be buying their stock. Don't follow like sheep without knowing where or why. "You have to figure out what your own aptitudes are," Munger says, explaining his own avoidance of many high-tech investments. "If you play games where other people have the aptitudes and you don't, you're going to lose."
The second half of Poor Charlie's Almanack consists of speeches that Munger has given over the years. Here's a representative exhortation to college students: "Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. But you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts."
This reminds me of the "10,000 hour rule" for achieving mastery. It's easy to get discouraged when you don't see fast progress, but the discipline of steady effort prepares you for those spurts when your efforts will pay off.
August 15, 2017
Одна из лучших книг по содержанию ценности из тех, которые я читал. Ценности так много, что бесполезно запоминать всё – не запомнишь, и уж тем более не сделаешь частью своей операционной модели в два счёта. Нужно читать и перечитывать. Кстати, не нашёл на русском языке отзывов об этой книге. Я первый (дайте медаль)!
Книга – набор мудрости о жизни от умного, малоизвестного и очень богатого человека – Чарли Мангера. Он второй из двух партнёров компании Berkshire Hathaway, холдинговой компании, управляемой Уорреном Баффетом. Это компания, которая c 1965 года управляет инвестиционным портфелем, среднегодовая доходность по которому более 18%.
Структурно произведение делю на две части. Первая часть – заметки семьи, друзей и знакомых Мангера о нём самом, принципах его мышления, поведения и принятия решений. Вторая часть – сборник отекстованных речей, рассказанных Мангером на различных событиях: от заседаний государственных организаций до речей перед выпускниками именитых американских учреждений.
Почему эту мудрость интересно познавать? Потому что можно учиться у человека старшего в почти в 3 раза, признанного гения и из первых уст. При последней редакции книги Мангеру было 84 года. В этом возрасте большинство стариков уже давно потеряли связь с реальностью, острый ум и уж тем более связно доносить мысли. У Мангера ум остаётся как никогда острым, оценка реальности адекватной, а манера подачи мудростей иносказательной и зачастую юморной. Ведь (и это было для меня открытием) никто не будет слушать твои мудрости, даже фундаментальной важности, если они поданы в скучной, наставнически-педантичной манере.
У такого человека хочется учиться мудрости. Кажется, что он идеал мудрости в физическом выражении.
Чему я научился из книги?
О важности life-long learning
В конце школы я наивно полагал, что, отучившись в университете, я буду знать о жизни всё. Наверняка, это убеждение не родилось на пустом месте: века люди так и жили, мои родители так жили, вся провинция России так живёт сегодня. Ты учишься в школе, потом в университете, потом всю жизнь работаешь, используя полученные знания. В 21 веке мир изменился, он убыстрился. Чтобы не терять связь с реальностью, а значит, по-простому, оставатьс�� психически здоровым человеком, нужно постоянно учиться. После университета, в 25, 30, 40, 60 и так далее лет.
О необходимости чтения
Учиться можно двумя способами: 1) через общение с людьми и 2) че��ез постоянное чтение. Мангер читал всегда. У него было специальное кресло с торшером, где он пропадал от своей семьи и был недоступен для них, даже если они заходили к нему в комнату. Кто-то бы посчитал это грубым, а Мангер просто отключался от мира и погружался в книги.
На эту тему у Баффета есть цитата (про себя и Мангера): «Мы не читаем и не используем мнения, мы собираем факты, а решения принимаем самостоятельно».
Главный вывод: я мало читаю. Даже 30 книг в год – это мало. А почему так происходит? Работа и зарабатывание денег отнимает больше времени, чем я хотел бы. После работы, полноценной жизни (друзья, девушки), спорта действительно остаётся очень мало времени на чтение. Система построена таким образом, чтобы обыватель оставался тупым. Жиза.
Кстати, Галицкий говорит наоборот. Он говорит, что в какой-то момент нужно уже перестать быть «читателем» и стать «писателем». Разница в мировоззрении.
О психологических тенденциях (склонностях) нашего мозга
Наш мозг, чтобы работать быстрее и меньше напрягаться, использует «короткие пути», шорткаты. Эти психологические трюки мозга в большинстве случаев помогают быстрее принимать правильные решения. Иногда же эти же самые психологические тенденции играют с нами злую шутку, дают осечку: они продолжают работать даже в ситуациях, когда выдаваемое ими решение ошибочно или несёт нам угрозу.
Об этих особенностях работы мозга полезно знать, чтобы не попадать впросак, когда тенденции работают в негативную сторону. Мангер выделяет 25 штук таких тенденций и называет их tendencies of human misjudgment.
Простейший пример – концепт social proof. В большинстве случаев полезная штука: веди себя так, как ведёт большинство людей вокруг и скорее всего у тебя всё будет хорошо. Эта тенденция сложилась эволюционно (когда твои соплеменники бегут от разъяренного мамонта, скорее всего тебе тоже надо бежать), но работает и сегодня (если в незнакомом месте на пляже много парней прыгает с причала в воду, скорее всего там достаточно глубоко, чтобы не убиться). При этом, иногда social proof работает отрицательно для человека, заставляя его принимать иррациональные решения: эйфория на финансовом рынке, покупка биткоинов, открытые аукционы.
О старении (strength of mind over strength of body)
Стареть плохо. Тело слабеет, смерть приближается. При этом, компенсировать старость возможно. Мангер об этом заявляет эффектной фразой: старость, это когда сила тела сменяется силой мозга. Мы стареем физически, при этом, если мы работаем над собой, наш мозг становится сильнее: мы больше знаем, принимаем быстрее лучшие решения, надёжнее избегаем проблем.
При этом, Мангер также напоминает, что касательно мозга, нужно помнить о двух вещах. Во-первых, наши познавательные способности с возрастом ухудшаются. Если хочешь что-то выучить, приобрести навыки, делай это пока молодой. Во-вторых, у мозга есть натуральная тенденция забывать неиспользуемые навыки со временем. Поэтому, чтобы поддерживать жизненно важные навыки в актуальном состоянии, ими нужно постоянно пользоваться. И прежде всего речь идёт о редко используемых умственных моделях, использовать которые приходится редко, но, когда приходится, важность от их правильного использования огромная.
Великолепная цитата о том, почему старости не нужно бояться, если в молодости и зрелости всё делал правильно: the best armor of old age is a well spent life preceding it.
О multidisciplinary approach and multiple mental models
Если просто, то главная жизненная стратегия Мангера – разбираться во всём. Это очень помогает. Мангер учит, что чтобы принимать правильные решения по жизни и предотвращать само появление проблем, нужно обладать важнейшими концептуальными идеями из целого ряда разношёрстных дисциплин, точных и неточных наук. Эти концептуальные идеи он называет ментальными моделями и говорит, что ими нужно владеть на уровне беглого использования.
Основные модели принадлежат таким областям, как: математика (привет, GMAT! – не случайно GMAT требуют от 30-40-летних дядек, претендующих на зачисление на MBA), бухгалтерский учёт, физика, химия, биология, психология.
В книге, к сожалению, Мангер очень мало даёт конкретных концептов, которыми стоит овладеть, перечисляя лишь общие области. Так, из математики он адвокатирует использование сложного процента, теории вероятностей (нужно повторить!), комбинаторики и дерева принятия решений. Из биологии помнить о теории эволюции. Из физики (подготовка пилотов самолётов) использование контрольных списков (checklist).
На использовании фреймворка ментальных моделей построен весь инвестиционный бизнес Мангера и Баффета. Они берут бизнес-идею и прогоняют её через «решётку» (слово из книги) своих ментальных моделей. В книге великолепно описан пример Кока-Колы, где Мангер объясняет, почему это компания была обречена на успех, используя аргументы из математики, биологии, психологии и химии.
О том, как провалить свою жизнь
Мангер советует один простой, но очень действенный метод решения сложных задач: переворачивание. Так, он использует свой метод давая напутствия выпускникам одной именитой школы в Штатах. Вместо положительных пожеланий о том, как преуспеть в жизни он напутствует, что нужно делать, чтобы свою жизнь провалить.
Один из главных take-away этой напутственной речи о том, что чувство обиды (на себя, на людей вокруг, на работодателя, коллег, несправедливую вселенную) абсолютно бессмысленно с рациональной точки зрения. Чувство обиды ни к чему не ведёт! Оно, наоборот, только мешает и отнимает время! Это зона роста для меня, т.к. я люблю пообижаться на жизнь, тупость людей, несправедливость и т.к. Надо запомнить, что моя обида –
Это всего лишь непродуктивная эмоциональная реакция. Вселенной вообще это слово неизвестно.
Другие способы провалить жизнь:
1. Вещества, изменяющие сознание (кстати, я к ним и кофе отношу);
2. Зависть;
3. Ненадёжность (не следовать своему слову, непоследовательность);
4. Учить всё, что можно на собственном опыте, сведя к минимуму всё, что можно выучить опосредованно из хорошего и плохого опыта других, живых и мёртвых;
5. Отчаиваться при неудачах и не выправляться, когда жизнь наносит тяжёлый удар; в жизни так много несчастья, что даже для самых удачливых и мудрых есть гарантия получения своей порции страданий;
6. Придерживаться представлений о жизни, созданных в прошлые года и никогда не тестировать, и не разрушать свои собственные любимые идеи, даже, если жизнь постоянно подсказывает, что они ошибочны.
О порядочности
Как получить то, что хочешь: the best way to try to get what you want is to try to deserve what you want.
You want to deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end.
Людям свойственно со временем рационализировать своё ещё недавно считавшееся ими самими аморальное поведение, если к такому поведению их подталкивает какой-то значимых для них стимул. Поэтому необходимо изначально создавать системы, в которых невозможно аморальное поведение. Эта психологическая тенденция называется incentive-caused bias.
О необходимости осмысливания
В современно мире клиповость мышления зашкаливает. Популярны статьи, начинающиеся перечислением способов: «5 способов, чтобы сбросить весь», «7 главных ошибок в постели», «30 истин к 30 годам». Люди хотят потребить инфу быстро, желательно не задумываясь, желательно с мгновенными результатами.
К сожалению, обучение так не работает. Значимые изменения в поведении человека или овладении новым навыком требуют времени. Перестройка нейронных связей в голове требует времени!
Но современные медиа овладели обывателем. Засорили мозг. Я сам такой: мне всё реже удаётся сосредоточиться, побыть наедине в размышлениях. То сообщение в воцап придёт, то звонок, то вспомню о новом интересном видео, которое видел на Ютюб и вот я уже опять потребляю инфу. Нет времени, чтобы провести в серьёзных размышлениях, создать нейронные связи, сделать свои выводы, спрогнозировать, проанализировать будущее.
А меж тем очевидно, что обучение и создание чего-то значимого требуют концентрации. Обучение не происходит по статьям, обучение происходит от работы.
Это глобальная и фундаментальная тема для внедрения.
Мангер на эту тему: habit of committing far more time to learning and thinking than to doing is no accident. Впрочем, он до сих пор не пользуется компьютером. И у него 2B USD.
Павел Дуров на эту тему: Способность к многочасовой концентрации на одном занятии — навык, который в нашу мобильно-онлайновую эпоху встречается все реже. Но именно этот навык необходим для интеллектуального, творческого или духовного прорыва. Будущее за теми, кто выработает иммунитет к технологическим ловушкам внимания и сохранит способность к длительной концентрации.
Резюме
Я постарался выделить главное, но такое впечатление, что не перечислил и пятой части. Это совершенно точно настольная книга, требующая тщательного обдумывания и последовательного внедрения новых убеждений и изменения модели поведения.
Книга – набор мудрости о жизни от умного, малоизвестного и очень богатого человека – Чарли Мангера. Он второй из двух партнёров компании Berkshire Hathaway, холдинговой компании, управляемой Уорреном Баффетом. Это компания, которая c 1965 года управляет инвестиционным портфелем, среднегодовая доходность по которому более 18%.
Структурно произведение делю на две части. Первая часть – заметки семьи, друзей и знакомых Мангера о нём самом, принципах его мышления, поведения и принятия решений. Вторая часть – сборник отекстованных речей, рассказанных Мангером на различных событиях: от заседаний государственных организаций до речей перед выпускниками именитых американских учреждений.
Почему эту мудрость интересно познавать? Потому что можно учиться у человека старшего в почти в 3 раза, признанного гения и из первых уст. При последней редакции книги Мангеру было 84 года. В этом возрасте большинство стариков уже давно потеряли связь с реальностью, острый ум и уж тем более связно доносить мысли. У Мангера ум остаётся как никогда острым, оценка реальности адекватной, а манера подачи мудростей иносказательной и зачастую юморной. Ведь (и это было для меня открытием) никто не будет слушать твои мудрости, даже фундаментальной важности, если они поданы в скучной, наставнически-педантичной манере.
У такого человека хочется учиться мудрости. Кажется, что он идеал мудрости в физическом выражении.
Чему я научился из книги?
О важности life-long learning
В конце школы я наивно полагал, что, отучившись в университете, я буду знать о жизни всё. Наверняка, это убеждение не родилось на пустом месте: века люди так и жили, мои родители так жили, вся провинция России так живёт сегодня. Ты учишься в школе, потом в университете, потом всю жизнь работаешь, используя полученные знания. В 21 веке мир изменился, он убыстрился. Чтобы не терять связь с реальностью, а значит, по-простому, оставатьс�� психически здоровым человеком, нужно постоянно учиться. После университета, в 25, 30, 40, 60 и так далее лет.
О необходимости чтения
Учиться можно двумя способами: 1) через общение с людьми и 2) че��ез постоянное чтение. Мангер читал всегда. У него было специальное кресло с торшером, где он пропадал от своей семьи и был недоступен для них, даже если они заходили к нему в комнату. Кто-то бы посчитал это грубым, а Мангер просто отключался от мира и погружался в книги.
На эту тему у Баффета есть цитата (про себя и Мангера): «Мы не читаем и не используем мнения, мы собираем факты, а решения принимаем самостоятельно».
Главный вывод: я мало читаю. Даже 30 книг в год – это мало. А почему так происходит? Работа и зарабатывание денег отнимает больше времени, чем я хотел бы. После работы, полноценной жизни (друзья, девушки), спорта действительно остаётся очень мало времени на чтение. Система построена таким образом, чтобы обыватель оставался тупым. Жиза.
Кстати, Галицкий говорит наоборот. Он говорит, что в какой-то момент нужно уже перестать быть «читателем» и стать «писателем». Разница в мировоззрении.
О психологических тенденциях (склонностях) нашего мозга
Наш мозг, чтобы работать быстрее и меньше напрягаться, использует «короткие пути», шорткаты. Эти психологические трюки мозга в большинстве случаев помогают быстрее принимать правильные решения. Иногда же эти же самые психологические тенденции играют с нами злую шутку, дают осечку: они продолжают работать даже в ситуациях, когда выдаваемое ими решение ошибочно или несёт нам угрозу.
Об этих особенностях работы мозга полезно знать, чтобы не попадать впросак, когда тенденции работают в негативную сторону. Мангер выделяет 25 штук таких тенденций и называет их tendencies of human misjudgment.
Простейший пример – концепт social proof. В большинстве случаев полезная штука: веди себя так, как ведёт большинство людей вокруг и скорее всего у тебя всё будет хорошо. Эта тенденция сложилась эволюционно (когда твои соплеменники бегут от разъяренного мамонта, скорее всего тебе тоже надо бежать), но работает и сегодня (если в незнакомом месте на пляже много парней прыгает с причала в воду, скорее всего там достаточно глубоко, чтобы не убиться). При этом, иногда social proof работает отрицательно для человека, заставляя его принимать иррациональные решения: эйфория на финансовом рынке, покупка биткоинов, открытые аукционы.
О старении (strength of mind over strength of body)
Стареть плохо. Тело слабеет, смерть приближается. При этом, компенсировать старость возможно. Мангер об этом заявляет эффектной фразой: старость, это когда сила тела сменяется силой мозга. Мы стареем физически, при этом, если мы работаем над собой, наш мозг становится сильнее: мы больше знаем, принимаем быстрее лучшие решения, надёжнее избегаем проблем.
При этом, Мангер также напоминает, что касательно мозга, нужно помнить о двух вещах. Во-первых, наши познавательные способности с возрастом ухудшаются. Если хочешь что-то выучить, приобрести навыки, делай это пока молодой. Во-вторых, у мозга есть натуральная тенденция забывать неиспользуемые навыки со временем. Поэтому, чтобы поддерживать жизненно важные навыки в актуальном состоянии, ими нужно постоянно пользоваться. И прежде всего речь идёт о редко используемых умственных моделях, использовать которые приходится редко, но, когда приходится, важность от их правильного использования огромная.
Великолепная цитата о том, почему старости не нужно бояться, если в молодости и зрелости всё делал правильно: the best armor of old age is a well spent life preceding it.
О multidisciplinary approach and multiple mental models
Если просто, то главная жизненная стратегия Мангера – разбираться во всём. Это очень помогает. Мангер учит, что чтобы принимать правильные решения по жизни и предотвращать само появление проблем, нужно обладать важнейшими концептуальными идеями из целого ряда разношёрстных дисциплин, точных и неточных наук. Эти концептуальные идеи он называет ментальными моделями и говорит, что ими нужно владеть на уровне беглого использования.
Основные модели принадлежат таким областям, как: математика (привет, GMAT! – не случайно GMAT требуют от 30-40-летних дядек, претендующих на зачисление на MBA), бухгалтерский учёт, физика, химия, биология, психология.
В книге, к сожалению, Мангер очень мало даёт конкретных концептов, которыми стоит овладеть, перечисляя лишь общие области. Так, из математики он адвокатирует использование сложного процента, теории вероятностей (нужно повторить!), комбинаторики и дерева принятия решений. Из биологии помнить о теории эволюции. Из физики (подготовка пилотов самолётов) использование контрольных списков (checklist).
На использовании фреймворка ментальных моделей построен весь инвестиционный бизнес Мангера и Баффета. Они берут бизнес-идею и прогоняют её через «решётку» (слово из книги) своих ментальных моделей. В книге великолепно описан пример Кока-Колы, где Мангер объясняет, почему это компания была обречена на успех, используя аргументы из математики, биологии, психологии и химии.
О том, как провалить свою жизнь
Мангер советует один простой, но очень действенный метод решения сложных задач: переворачивание. Так, он использует свой метод давая напутствия выпускникам одной именитой школы в Штатах. Вместо положительных пожеланий о том, как преуспеть в жизни он напутствует, что нужно делать, чтобы свою жизнь провалить.
Один из главных take-away этой напутственной речи о том, что чувство обиды (на себя, на людей вокруг, на работодателя, коллег, несправедливую вселенную) абсолютно бессмысленно с рациональной точки зрения. Чувство обиды ни к чему не ведёт! Оно, наоборот, только мешает и отнимает время! Это зона роста для меня, т.к. я люблю пообижаться на жизнь, тупость людей, несправедливость и т.к. Надо запомнить, что моя обида –
Это всего лишь непродуктивная эмоциональная реакция. Вселенной вообще это слово неизвестно.
Другие способы провалить жизнь:
1. Вещества, изменяющие сознание (кстати, я к ним и кофе отношу);
2. Зависть;
3. Ненадёжность (не следовать своему слову, непоследовательность);
4. Учить всё, что можно на собственном опыте, сведя к минимуму всё, что можно выучить опосредованно из хорошего и плохого опыта других, живых и мёртвых;
5. Отчаиваться при неудачах и не выправляться, когда жизнь наносит тяжёлый удар; в жизни так много несчастья, что даже для самых удачливых и мудрых есть гарантия получения своей порции страданий;
6. Придерживаться представлений о жизни, созданных в прошлые года и никогда не тестировать, и не разрушать свои собственные любимые идеи, даже, если жизнь постоянно подсказывает, что они ошибочны.
О порядочности
Как получить то, что хочешь: the best way to try to get what you want is to try to deserve what you want.
You want to deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end.
Людям свойственно со временем рационализировать своё ещё недавно считавшееся ими самими аморальное поведение, если к такому поведению их подталкивает какой-то значимых для них стимул. Поэтому необходимо изначально создавать системы, в которых невозможно аморальное поведение. Эта психологическая тенденция называется incentive-caused bias.
О необходимости осмысливания
В современно мире клиповость мышления зашкаливает. Популярны статьи, начинающиеся перечислением способов: «5 способов, чтобы сбросить весь», «7 главных ошибок в постели», «30 истин к 30 годам». Люди хотят потребить инфу быстро, желательно не задумываясь, желательно с мгновенными результатами.
К сожалению, обучение так не работает. Значимые изменения в поведении человека или овладении новым навыком требуют времени. Перестройка нейронных связей в голове требует времени!
Но современные медиа овладели обывателем. Засорили мозг. Я сам такой: мне всё реже удаётся сосредоточиться, побыть наедине в размышлениях. То сообщение в воцап придёт, то звонок, то вспомню о новом интересном видео, которое видел на Ютюб и вот я уже опять потребляю инфу. Нет времени, чтобы провести в серьёзных размышлениях, создать нейронные связи, сделать свои выводы, спрогнозировать, проанализировать будущее.
А меж тем очевидно, что обучение и создание чего-то значимого требуют концентрации. Обучение не происходит по статьям, обучение происходит от работы.
Это глобальная и фундаментальная тема для внедрения.
Мангер на эту тему: habit of committing far more time to learning and thinking than to doing is no accident. Впрочем, он до сих пор не пользуется компьютером. И у него 2B USD.
Павел Дуров на эту тему: Способность к многочасовой концентрации на одном занятии — навык, который в нашу мобильно-онлайновую эпоху встречается все реже. Но именно этот навык необходим для интеллектуального, творческого или духовного прорыва. Будущее за теми, кто выработает иммунитет к технологическим ловушкам внимания и сохранит способность к длительной концентрации.
Резюме
Я постарался выделить главное, но такое впечатление, что не перечислил и пятой части. Это совершенно точно настольная книга, требующая тщательного обдумывания и последовательного внедрения новых убеждений и изменения модели поведения.
March 13, 2016
Most people seem to like this book a lot more than I did. I don't deny that there is wisdom (as well as wit) within this book, but Munger's basic points could be distilled into:
1. Be honest
2. Be patient
3. Be reliable
4. Don't fool yourself.
5. Don't be a slave of one discipline, use multiple models.
He keeps returning to these themes, which is fair enough, it's mostly a compilation of his speeches, not his fault someone decided to put these together into a book, but why would the editor of the book assemble a bunch of speeches that are more or less redundant?
Also, the actual book is a big, unwieldy coffee table book. I swear I ended up carving out a chunk of time to finish this book just because I found it annoying to deal with. I thought about docking a star for that, but it seemed a bit too on the nose of that cliche about judging books by their cover.
If you're completely new to economics, cognitive psych, complexity theory, evolution as well as a couple of the other subjects Munger touches on, don't let my review dissuade you, you'll likely benefit from this book more than I did. But if you read broadly already, I'm not sure this book should be at the top of your pile, because there's nothing new here.
1. Be honest
2. Be patient
3. Be reliable
4. Don't fool yourself.
5. Don't be a slave of one discipline, use multiple models.
He keeps returning to these themes, which is fair enough, it's mostly a compilation of his speeches, not his fault someone decided to put these together into a book, but why would the editor of the book assemble a bunch of speeches that are more or less redundant?
Also, the actual book is a big, unwieldy coffee table book. I swear I ended up carving out a chunk of time to finish this book just because I found it annoying to deal with. I thought about docking a star for that, but it seemed a bit too on the nose of that cliche about judging books by their cover.
If you're completely new to economics, cognitive psych, complexity theory, evolution as well as a couple of the other subjects Munger touches on, don't let my review dissuade you, you'll likely benefit from this book more than I did. But if you read broadly already, I'm not sure this book should be at the top of your pile, because there's nothing new here.
October 6, 2017
This is likely the most important book I've read to date. Ultimately, this is a book about how one of the most successful investors in history has structured his way of thinking. His approach of adopting the best mental models from all disciplines applies to anyone.
Charlie is simply brilliant, and this book is a fantastic summary of his views. What he preaches is to understand the big ideas in all the big disciplines, instead of becoming yet another "man with a hammer". The book is filled with references to the most important mental models in a dozen disciplines, and I've spent hours and hours deep in Wikipedia rabbit holes from interesting sources and references. This is why it took me months to go through.
As Charlie says, "In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time -- none, zero." It's absolutely incredible how much knowledge he's been able to accumulate in his lifetime. It's filled with analogies from Captain Cook to Planck, and touches on subjects from psychology, to biology, to aviation, to economics, to mental models from engineering. It's clear that Munger understood biases and how we tend to fool ourselves long before Thinking Fast and Slow was released. He goes over memorized checklists to understand psychological effects and how they compound on each other. Munger practises some of the strongest morals I've seen since Franklin.
This book taught me to consider the second-order and third-order effects just as much as the first-order. Munger and Buffet essentially sit around for months, reading and reading hours and hours a day. Once in a while, they'll find something and invest in it. Their approach to investing is interesting, because they understand that each decision takes a lot of work to get right. Therefore, they choose to spend a lot of time making each decision with patience, and let the outcomes of those decisions compound. People who make good decisions do exactly that. They engage early and spend a lot of time gathering information and evaluating, instead of implementing. The winner is the person who makes the fewest, calibrated bets. "Decision makers gravitate towards ideas that seem risk free and reject these with modest risk and high potential trade-off." It's the person who understands when they're outside their circle of competence and either widens it, or delegates.
"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser [..] most people [..] then get what they deserve."
Note: You can't buy this book on Amazon. You'll have to order it through this website. It's big and costly, but it's well worth it.
Charlie is simply brilliant, and this book is a fantastic summary of his views. What he preaches is to understand the big ideas in all the big disciplines, instead of becoming yet another "man with a hammer". The book is filled with references to the most important mental models in a dozen disciplines, and I've spent hours and hours deep in Wikipedia rabbit holes from interesting sources and references. This is why it took me months to go through.
As Charlie says, "In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time -- none, zero." It's absolutely incredible how much knowledge he's been able to accumulate in his lifetime. It's filled with analogies from Captain Cook to Planck, and touches on subjects from psychology, to biology, to aviation, to economics, to mental models from engineering. It's clear that Munger understood biases and how we tend to fool ourselves long before Thinking Fast and Slow was released. He goes over memorized checklists to understand psychological effects and how they compound on each other. Munger practises some of the strongest morals I've seen since Franklin.
This book taught me to consider the second-order and third-order effects just as much as the first-order. Munger and Buffet essentially sit around for months, reading and reading hours and hours a day. Once in a while, they'll find something and invest in it. Their approach to investing is interesting, because they understand that each decision takes a lot of work to get right. Therefore, they choose to spend a lot of time making each decision with patience, and let the outcomes of those decisions compound. People who make good decisions do exactly that. They engage early and spend a lot of time gathering information and evaluating, instead of implementing. The winner is the person who makes the fewest, calibrated bets. "Decision makers gravitate towards ideas that seem risk free and reject these with modest risk and high potential trade-off." It's the person who understands when they're outside their circle of competence and either widens it, or delegates.
"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser [..] most people [..] then get what they deserve."
Note: You can't buy this book on Amazon. You'll have to order it through this website. It's big and costly, but it's well worth it.
August 15, 2023
2023-08-15:
A valuable addition “books to keep for life”. Investment advice and life advice in one beautiful symbiosis from Charlie Munger. Info can be found also on Wikipedia and YouTube (Mungers speeches are great).
2021-06-18 update:
“What are the core ideas that helped me? Well, luckily I had the idea at a very early age that the safest way to try to get what you want is to try to deserve what you want. It’s such a simple idea. It’s the golden rule. You want to deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end.” 422 expanded third edition
How to get rich:
“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. But you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts..... slug it out one inch at a time, day by day. At the end of the day - if you live long enough - most people get what they deserve.” 138
The importance of reading:
“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time - none, zero. You’d be amazed at how much Warren reads - and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.”
“I am a biography nut myself. And I think when you’re trying to teach the great concepts that work, it helps to tie them into the lives and personalities of he people who developed them. I think you learn economics better if you make Adam Smith your friend. That sounds funny, making friends among the eminent dead, but if you go through life making friends with the eminent dead who had the right ideas, I think it will work better in life and work better in education. It’s way better than just being given the basic concepts.” 139
What will fail in life?
”Let me use a little inversion now. What will really fail in life? What do we want to avoid? Some answers are easy. For example, sloth and unreliability will fail.” 429
Assiduity:
“Another thing you have to do is have a lot of assiduity. I like that word because to me it means: sit down on your ass until you do it. I’ve had marvelous partners, full of assiduity, all my life. I think I got them partly because I tried to deserve them and partly because I was shrewd enough to select them, and partly there was some luck.” 437
Terrible blows in life:
“Another thing to cope with is that life is very likely to provide terrible blows, unfair blows. Some people recover, and others don’t. And there I think the attitude of Epictetus helps guide one to the right reaction. He thought that every mischance in life, however bad, created and opportunity to behave well. He believed every mischance provided an opportunity to learn something useful. And ones duty was not to become immersed in self-pity, but to utilize each terrible blow in a constructive fashion.” 437
Wait ...and pounce philosophy:
“Our experience tends to confirm a long-held notion that being prepared, on a few occasions in a lifetime, to act promptly in scale, in doing some simple and logical thing, will often dramatically improve the financial results of that lifetime.
A few major opportunities, clearly recognizable as such, will usually come to one who continuously searches and waits, with a curious mind that loves diagnosis involving multiple variables.
And then all that is required is a willingness to bet heavily when the odds are extremely favorable, using resources available as a result of prudence and patience in the past.” p.52
“I could improve your ultimate financial welfare by giving you a ticket with only twenty slots in it so that you had twenty punches - representing all the investments that you get to make in a lifetime. And once you’d punched through the card, you couldn’t make any more investments at all. Under those rules, you’d really think carefully about what you did, and you’d be forced to load up on what you’d really thought about. So you’d do so much better.” (Buffett, p. 62)
Lessons: curious persistence and step by step you get ahead. Munger has not known anyone successful who didn’t read all the time. When you encounter a big opportunity- take advantage. But also know that big things come now and then and not very often. Independent thinking and multiple mental models is necessary. Avoid bias as much as you can. Use checklists. Getting compound interest over time is the key. Learn from mentors and the heroes of history so as to repeat what is successful and avoid the pitfalls. Learn from the “eminent dead”, including Cicero, Ben Graham and Ben Franklin.
A valuable addition “books to keep for life”. Investment advice and life advice in one beautiful symbiosis from Charlie Munger. Info can be found also on Wikipedia and YouTube (Mungers speeches are great).
2021-06-18 update:
“What are the core ideas that helped me? Well, luckily I had the idea at a very early age that the safest way to try to get what you want is to try to deserve what you want. It’s such a simple idea. It’s the golden rule. You want to deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end.” 422 expanded third edition
How to get rich:
“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. But you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts..... slug it out one inch at a time, day by day. At the end of the day - if you live long enough - most people get what they deserve.” 138
The importance of reading:
“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time - none, zero. You’d be amazed at how much Warren reads - and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.”
“I am a biography nut myself. And I think when you’re trying to teach the great concepts that work, it helps to tie them into the lives and personalities of he people who developed them. I think you learn economics better if you make Adam Smith your friend. That sounds funny, making friends among the eminent dead, but if you go through life making friends with the eminent dead who had the right ideas, I think it will work better in life and work better in education. It’s way better than just being given the basic concepts.” 139
What will fail in life?
”Let me use a little inversion now. What will really fail in life? What do we want to avoid? Some answers are easy. For example, sloth and unreliability will fail.” 429
Assiduity:
“Another thing you have to do is have a lot of assiduity. I like that word because to me it means: sit down on your ass until you do it. I’ve had marvelous partners, full of assiduity, all my life. I think I got them partly because I tried to deserve them and partly because I was shrewd enough to select them, and partly there was some luck.” 437
Terrible blows in life:
“Another thing to cope with is that life is very likely to provide terrible blows, unfair blows. Some people recover, and others don’t. And there I think the attitude of Epictetus helps guide one to the right reaction. He thought that every mischance in life, however bad, created and opportunity to behave well. He believed every mischance provided an opportunity to learn something useful. And ones duty was not to become immersed in self-pity, but to utilize each terrible blow in a constructive fashion.” 437
Wait ...and pounce philosophy:
“Our experience tends to confirm a long-held notion that being prepared, on a few occasions in a lifetime, to act promptly in scale, in doing some simple and logical thing, will often dramatically improve the financial results of that lifetime.
A few major opportunities, clearly recognizable as such, will usually come to one who continuously searches and waits, with a curious mind that loves diagnosis involving multiple variables.
And then all that is required is a willingness to bet heavily when the odds are extremely favorable, using resources available as a result of prudence and patience in the past.” p.52
“I could improve your ultimate financial welfare by giving you a ticket with only twenty slots in it so that you had twenty punches - representing all the investments that you get to make in a lifetime. And once you’d punched through the card, you couldn’t make any more investments at all. Under those rules, you’d really think carefully about what you did, and you’d be forced to load up on what you’d really thought about. So you’d do so much better.” (Buffett, p. 62)
Lessons: curious persistence and step by step you get ahead. Munger has not known anyone successful who didn’t read all the time. When you encounter a big opportunity- take advantage. But also know that big things come now and then and not very often. Independent thinking and multiple mental models is necessary. Avoid bias as much as you can. Use checklists. Getting compound interest over time is the key. Learn from mentors and the heroes of history so as to repeat what is successful and avoid the pitfalls. Learn from the “eminent dead”, including Cicero, Ben Graham and Ben Franklin.
February 22, 2015
Things that stood out to me from Charlie Munger:
"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. But you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts. Slug it out one inch at a time, day by day. At the end of the day - if you live long enough - most people get what they deserve."
"In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn't read all the time -- none, zero. You'd be amazed at how much Warren [Buffett] reads -- at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I'm a book with a couple of legs sticking out."
He also sent all of his family a copy of a book by Dr. Robert Cialdini called Influence, which I will be reading soon.
"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. But you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts. Slug it out one inch at a time, day by day. At the end of the day - if you live long enough - most people get what they deserve."
"In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn't read all the time -- none, zero. You'd be amazed at how much Warren [Buffett] reads -- at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I'm a book with a couple of legs sticking out."
He also sent all of his family a copy of a book by Dr. Robert Cialdini called Influence, which I will be reading soon.
May 30, 2017
One of the best books on business and psychology I've read. the book exists in the printed edition only but it is worth buying without any doubt. the almanac contains 3 parts:
- the biography of Charlie Munger with annotations and references explained (references explained is the most exciting thing about the whole book! great work by editors)
- transcripts of lectures Minger gave at various periods in different universities and organizations (with references explained too!)
- the talk with checklists of mental models and the explanation about mental models he uses in the checklist, the psychology behind every model and "antidots" he found that helps to control influence caused by particular models.
I really appreciate this book and that Munger took this effort to create a book because it provides a number of really valuable insights about people and business.
- the biography of Charlie Munger with annotations and references explained (references explained is the most exciting thing about the whole book! great work by editors)
- transcripts of lectures Minger gave at various periods in different universities and organizations (with references explained too!)
- the talk with checklists of mental models and the explanation about mental models he uses in the checklist, the psychology behind every model and "antidots" he found that helps to control influence caused by particular models.
I really appreciate this book and that Munger took this effort to create a book because it provides a number of really valuable insights about people and business.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2020
What can you say about a guy who manages assets worth billions of dollars, is Chairman and director of dozens of companies, and proudly states that he owns a computer but has no idea how to turn it on?
It's like an accountant who still uses an abacus telling you that he doesn't see the point of a calculator, (or 'adding machine' as Charlie Munger refers to them.)
Undoubtedly achieved through a combination of wisdom, hard work, and plenty of good fortune, Munger himself admits that his own success would be almost impossible to replicate given the modern economic conditions, yet this doesn't stop him from doling out his advice- which won't yield similar results for you anyway.
Most of the advice is general and unspecific in nature, and then the pieces that aren't, are still contentious.
For example, Buffett and Munger both specifically suggest that in your life, you should make very selective investments, very infrequently, and load up on them so that you put a large portion of your net worth into these 'high conviction' bets.
This is a great strategy when it works (e.g. you happen to be Charlie and Warren and buy Coca-Cola and GEICO in the 1960s) but may also be an equally bad move for a small investor who puts his life savings into a high conviction company that ends up going bankrupt.
I'm not saying a non-diversification strategy is wrong, it's just not going to work for everyone, and when it doesn't work, it might be disastrous.
The biggest problem that I have with this book, representing the oeuvre of Charlie Munger's published and spoken wisdom, is that Charlie continually repeats certain pocket-proverbs and anecdotes throughout the book, and yet just when you think he is reaching the point of EXPLAINING what he means, he deflects, or delivers an unrelated anecdote. e.g. Max Planck's chaffeur story.
The chaffeur story is a witty anecdote, but doesn't really mean anything or serve any purpose as a business lesson- especially when it's a deflection from providing the ACTUAL MEANING of what you were trying to understand.
The biggest, single piece of unedified instruction is this;
"To the man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."
"The biggest problem with most academic experts is that they are not multi-disciplinary."
"Aim to always use the big ideas from the big disciplines across all your work. And use them like a checklist."
Leaving aside Charlie's obsession with pop-psychology, which is the one thing that he actually goes to some effort to explain in the last 30 pages of the book, what does he mean here?
He drums on these concepts throughout the entire book, yet never ever gets around to leaving us with more than a guess.
What are the big disciplines? Economics, psychology... biology... physics... for sure. Genetics? Phrenology? Botany? Are they all sciences or are we including the arts and humanities?
What about carpentry? Chemistry? Engineering? Software Development? Philosophy? Metallurgy? Poetry? Poker playing? Fishing and farming? Hunting and gathering?
He never explains this, and this is a deplorable failing of the book.
And leading on from this, what are the big ideas?
Even if you take physics, where do you start and stop on the big ideas? Newton’s Laws? As they apply to technical analysis of stock prices? Viscosity of liquids? Does that help you compare weight of investments? Are there big ideas in sub-topics of gravity, quantum physics, nuclear radiation, and electricity that we are supposed to be wise enough to understand and apply to accounting balance sheets or P/E multiples? Or laws of astronomy that we can apply to Charlie's checklist? If so, which ones? Do we draw the line at Gallileo or can we use Copernicus ideas in informing our investing and decision making?
Obviously I'm being facetious here, but this is the point. You have a 500 page book to explain this stuff, you continually harp on the 'big ideas in the big disciplines' concept, yet you leave us without a clear picture of WHAT big ideas or big disciplines we are meant to apply.
Even just a broad stroke to define what you mean beyond saying 'hard sciences and soft sciences' would be good.
Every one of these efforts to explain is begun, and yet soon deflected with another unrelated but sometimes witty, and sometimes pointless anecdote or story about a business success or failing, which is supposed to be revealing, but which isn't.
It's like an accountant who still uses an abacus telling you that he doesn't see the point of a calculator, (or 'adding machine' as Charlie Munger refers to them.)
Undoubtedly achieved through a combination of wisdom, hard work, and plenty of good fortune, Munger himself admits that his own success would be almost impossible to replicate given the modern economic conditions, yet this doesn't stop him from doling out his advice- which won't yield similar results for you anyway.
Most of the advice is general and unspecific in nature, and then the pieces that aren't, are still contentious.
For example, Buffett and Munger both specifically suggest that in your life, you should make very selective investments, very infrequently, and load up on them so that you put a large portion of your net worth into these 'high conviction' bets.
This is a great strategy when it works (e.g. you happen to be Charlie and Warren and buy Coca-Cola and GEICO in the 1960s) but may also be an equally bad move for a small investor who puts his life savings into a high conviction company that ends up going bankrupt.
I'm not saying a non-diversification strategy is wrong, it's just not going to work for everyone, and when it doesn't work, it might be disastrous.
The biggest problem that I have with this book, representing the oeuvre of Charlie Munger's published and spoken wisdom, is that Charlie continually repeats certain pocket-proverbs and anecdotes throughout the book, and yet just when you think he is reaching the point of EXPLAINING what he means, he deflects, or delivers an unrelated anecdote. e.g. Max Planck's chaffeur story.
The chaffeur story is a witty anecdote, but doesn't really mean anything or serve any purpose as a business lesson- especially when it's a deflection from providing the ACTUAL MEANING of what you were trying to understand.
The biggest, single piece of unedified instruction is this;
"To the man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."
"The biggest problem with most academic experts is that they are not multi-disciplinary."
"Aim to always use the big ideas from the big disciplines across all your work. And use them like a checklist."
Leaving aside Charlie's obsession with pop-psychology, which is the one thing that he actually goes to some effort to explain in the last 30 pages of the book, what does he mean here?
He drums on these concepts throughout the entire book, yet never ever gets around to leaving us with more than a guess.
What are the big disciplines? Economics, psychology... biology... physics... for sure. Genetics? Phrenology? Botany? Are they all sciences or are we including the arts and humanities?
What about carpentry? Chemistry? Engineering? Software Development? Philosophy? Metallurgy? Poetry? Poker playing? Fishing and farming? Hunting and gathering?
He never explains this, and this is a deplorable failing of the book.
And leading on from this, what are the big ideas?
Even if you take physics, where do you start and stop on the big ideas? Newton’s Laws? As they apply to technical analysis of stock prices? Viscosity of liquids? Does that help you compare weight of investments? Are there big ideas in sub-topics of gravity, quantum physics, nuclear radiation, and electricity that we are supposed to be wise enough to understand and apply to accounting balance sheets or P/E multiples? Or laws of astronomy that we can apply to Charlie's checklist? If so, which ones? Do we draw the line at Gallileo or can we use Copernicus ideas in informing our investing and decision making?
Obviously I'm being facetious here, but this is the point. You have a 500 page book to explain this stuff, you continually harp on the 'big ideas in the big disciplines' concept, yet you leave us without a clear picture of WHAT big ideas or big disciplines we are meant to apply.
Even just a broad stroke to define what you mean beyond saying 'hard sciences and soft sciences' would be good.
Every one of these efforts to explain is begun, and yet soon deflected with another unrelated but sometimes witty, and sometimes pointless anecdote or story about a business success or failing, which is supposed to be revealing, but which isn't.
May 22, 2015
I had no idea how much I would love this book. It's a monster - huge, unwieldily to hold and read, but a truly valuable and insightful book.
This is not a book about finance, or how to beat the market -- nothing so narrow in scope. It is a book about how to think. How to analyze any situation. How to make wise decisions. In particular, he teaches how to build a flexibility of the mind by developing mental models through which to filter information we take in.
We tend, as human beings, to be rather narrow and rigid in our decision making - particularly in business. When we look at a business only through the books they keep, that is from only a financial perspective, we might miss seeing potential pitfalls of the business's management, or the potential of their research, or the unique market that they might be creating. He also writes about common pitfalls in lazy thinking and the benefits of disciplined analysis. That kind of decision-making skill can serve every area of our lives.
Do be prepared for an almost fan-boy level of love for Benjamin Franklin. I don't believe it is at all misplaced though it did lead to several more book purchases.
Charlie Munger is the "silent" partner to Warren Buffet, and after reading both authors' books about money, economics, and business acumen - I find Charlie Munger far more engaging. Be prepared to buy several more books as a result of reading this one, he has many excellent recommendations.
This is not a book about finance, or how to beat the market -- nothing so narrow in scope. It is a book about how to think. How to analyze any situation. How to make wise decisions. In particular, he teaches how to build a flexibility of the mind by developing mental models through which to filter information we take in.
We tend, as human beings, to be rather narrow and rigid in our decision making - particularly in business. When we look at a business only through the books they keep, that is from only a financial perspective, we might miss seeing potential pitfalls of the business's management, or the potential of their research, or the unique market that they might be creating. He also writes about common pitfalls in lazy thinking and the benefits of disciplined analysis. That kind of decision-making skill can serve every area of our lives.
Do be prepared for an almost fan-boy level of love for Benjamin Franklin. I don't believe it is at all misplaced though it did lead to several more book purchases.
Charlie Munger is the "silent" partner to Warren Buffet, and after reading both authors' books about money, economics, and business acumen - I find Charlie Munger far more engaging. Be prepared to buy several more books as a result of reading this one, he has many excellent recommendations.
June 6, 2015
This could have been pompous, self-congratulating and littered with saccharin hero-worship in the vein of a 'Big' Lebowski, but in the spirit of the man himself (the eponymous Charlie) was a chocolate bar wrapped in a golden ticket to the inner workings and concerns of a very accomplished, (very) intelligent & (very) humble man. Every page a treat with an avuncular and wise friend. Much the modern Ben Franklin.
February 12, 2025
I've finally read it, but so many people have recommended (& "oversold") me this book, that the expectations were skyrocketing.
In the end, I've got the book that indeed has a bunch of very useful (yet, not super-revealing) pieces of advise (think multidisciplinary, always be learning, avoid extremes, don't try to be smart but start with avoiding simple mistakes, look for strong moats, good ideas are rare - so when you spot one, hug to it, etc.), but ... there's not really that much content here. The essential lessons keep being repeated (multidisciplinary ...), the same anecdotes are being repeated 3+ times (the one about Planck or the one about a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, ...), and there are far fewer anecdotes than I've been told.
I do not question Charlie Munger, who was a remarkable and inspiring individual. Or his chutzpah. But I expected better from a book that was supposed to capture the essence of his personality and life philosophy.
In the end, I've got the book that indeed has a bunch of very useful (yet, not super-revealing) pieces of advise (think multidisciplinary, always be learning, avoid extremes, don't try to be smart but start with avoiding simple mistakes, look for strong moats, good ideas are rare - so when you spot one, hug to it, etc.), but ... there's not really that much content here. The essential lessons keep being repeated (multidisciplinary ...), the same anecdotes are being repeated 3+ times (the one about Planck or the one about a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, ...), and there are far fewer anecdotes than I've been told.
I do not question Charlie Munger, who was a remarkable and inspiring individual. Or his chutzpah. But I expected better from a book that was supposed to capture the essence of his personality and life philosophy.
August 24, 2021
A lot of wisdom in this book — though it’s often buried as a throwaway comment instead of being an in your face insight.
Some key takeaways were:
- Learn when a technological change benefits you and when it doesn't. “There are all kinds of wonderful inventions that give you as owners nothing except the opportunity to spend a lot more money on business that’s still lousy. Often, all the savings from a new technology will flow through to consumers because of industry dynamics”
- On the price of stocks. “Stocks are valued partly like bonds, based on roughly rational projections of producing future cash. But they are also valued partly like Rembrandt paintings, purchased because prices have gone up”
- On the ideas that kill you. "It’s not the bad ideas that do you in. It’s the good ones. If a thing is a bad idea, it’s hard to overdo. But if it’s a good idea with a core of essential and important truth, you can’t ignore it. Then it’s easy to overdo"
- On investing. "A few major opportunities, usually recognizable as such, will usually come to those who continually search and wait. Then, all that’s required is to bet heavily when the odds are extremely favourable, using resources available as a result of prudence and patience in the past ... When you invest, bet big. Don’t take 'initial positions' or make 'small, speculative investments' ... Be willing to 'prepay; with rigorous preparation"
- On changing your mind. "Be willing, even eager, to change your mind. Identify your mistakes and learn from them. Any year you don’t destroy one of your best loved ideas is a wasted year. When a better tool (idea or approach) comes along, swap it for your old, less useful tool"
- On persuasion and consensus building. “If you want to persuade – appeal to interest and not to reason ... You can cause enormous offense by being right in way that causes somebody else to lose face in his own discipline or hierarchy”
Some key takeaways were:
- Learn when a technological change benefits you and when it doesn't. “There are all kinds of wonderful inventions that give you as owners nothing except the opportunity to spend a lot more money on business that’s still lousy. Often, all the savings from a new technology will flow through to consumers because of industry dynamics”
- On the price of stocks. “Stocks are valued partly like bonds, based on roughly rational projections of producing future cash. But they are also valued partly like Rembrandt paintings, purchased because prices have gone up”
- On the ideas that kill you. "It’s not the bad ideas that do you in. It’s the good ones. If a thing is a bad idea, it’s hard to overdo. But if it’s a good idea with a core of essential and important truth, you can’t ignore it. Then it’s easy to overdo"
- On investing. "A few major opportunities, usually recognizable as such, will usually come to those who continually search and wait. Then, all that’s required is to bet heavily when the odds are extremely favourable, using resources available as a result of prudence and patience in the past ... When you invest, bet big. Don’t take 'initial positions' or make 'small, speculative investments' ... Be willing to 'prepay; with rigorous preparation"
- On changing your mind. "Be willing, even eager, to change your mind. Identify your mistakes and learn from them. Any year you don’t destroy one of your best loved ideas is a wasted year. When a better tool (idea or approach) comes along, swap it for your old, less useful tool"
- On persuasion and consensus building. “If you want to persuade – appeal to interest and not to reason ... You can cause enormous offense by being right in way that causes somebody else to lose face in his own discipline or hierarchy”
May 22, 2020
I'm going to apply Munger's inversion principle to ask not what makes an excellent book, but what ruins an excellent book?
1) Unnecessary new editions that add nothing
2) Hundreds of introductory pages that add nothing
3) Glorified accounts from family members that add nothing
4) Excessive repetition of the core ideas (which in itself are great, but the redundancy makes it tedious)
It's frustrating because the core ideas are so powerful that this is a book I would recommend to everyone. However, there is no easy way to get through it - even if you try to skim through the initial fluff.
1) Unnecessary new editions that add nothing
2) Hundreds of introductory pages that add nothing
3) Glorified accounts from family members that add nothing
4) Excessive repetition of the core ideas (which in itself are great, but the redundancy makes it tedious)
It's frustrating because the core ideas are so powerful that this is a book I would recommend to everyone. However, there is no easy way to get through it - even if you try to skim through the initial fluff.
September 14, 2014
AMAZING. If you're human and you doing something on this planet or even on the other.. Read it.
Thanks. That's it.
Thanks. That's it.
August 18, 2024
(2.3) More psychology than business…lots of repetition…various speeches…
March 11, 2014
Five stars, no doubt.
It's extremely rare (and generous!) to read a book written by successful businessman with his life&business decision-making framework openly laid out before reader's eyes. Even rarer still is to see that author is also a pure intellectual, striving for science-like clarity and validity of his ideas.
Nevertheless, the book has two flaws that distract from overall superb impression and could be remedied with simple editing:
- a lot of praise and self-praise given to author. It achieves the opposite, in my opinion, undermining a bit the respect for author. More humility would go much longer way and, fairly speaking, I'm not interested about what business partners or children think about the author's personality, especially taking into account psychological bias to speak nicely and sugar-coat in such circumstances
- the book consists of a dozen of public talks given by Charlie Munger on various occasions. This is an effective, but somewhat inefficient structure as many ideas, examples and thoughts are repeated multiple times thorough the book.
It's extremely rare (and generous!) to read a book written by successful businessman with his life&business decision-making framework openly laid out before reader's eyes. Even rarer still is to see that author is also a pure intellectual, striving for science-like clarity and validity of his ideas.
Nevertheless, the book has two flaws that distract from overall superb impression and could be remedied with simple editing:
- a lot of praise and self-praise given to author. It achieves the opposite, in my opinion, undermining a bit the respect for author. More humility would go much longer way and, fairly speaking, I'm not interested about what business partners or children think about the author's personality, especially taking into account psychological bias to speak nicely and sugar-coat in such circumstances
- the book consists of a dozen of public talks given by Charlie Munger on various occasions. This is an effective, but somewhat inefficient structure as many ideas, examples and thoughts are repeated multiple times thorough the book.
February 7, 2021
Poor Charlie's Almanack is modeled after Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack; a collection of history, talks and wisdom of Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet's #2 man at Berkshire Hathaway.
I really enjoyed all of the content. There is some history, some content around Charlie's decision-making framework, a bunch of random "Mungerisms" (Charlie quotes), and transcripts of eleven talks he's given to different audiences, reproduced with a brief, updated reflection after each. Charlie is erudite; self-taught across many disciplines and able to synthesize insights across disciplines, time and history. It's not a book about investing or finance, it's more about ethics, morality, human psychology, general business, sound judgement, and history.
Some of Charlie's collected quotes I am going to take away:
- "What you measure is what you get" - Jack Welch of GE
- "If you were to persuade, appeal to to interest and not to reason" - Ben Franklin.
- The iron rule of communication from Carl (C.F.) Braun, who built over 250 petrochemical plants: If you're issuing a directive, you must specify Who is going to do What, When, Where and most importantly Why. Apparently not including the Why was a fireable offence. I think we can all agree that when the "Why" is missing from company/organization policies, instructions from your boss, or requests from a colleague, it is very frustrating.
This is a big coffee table hardcover; about 12" by 12" and maybe 1.5" thick. A big monster. I have to credit this book with opening up a new reading style for me. It turns out a coffee table book is perfect to read at the table over one's morning coffee or solo meals, as it holds itself open to the right page. So I'm looking forward to tackling at least 2 more large coffee table books in my collection that I've only flipped through but never read.
Two minor complaints. One, all core content on each page was framed by sidebars of random facts and trivia collected by the editor. While interesting, trying to take in all this errata interrupted the flow of reading the talks (which read well as essays). Two, the editor takes key sentences in the middle of a talk/essay, and reproduces them in the middle of that essay in a larger font and bolded (you know what I mean, like a magazine article?). My complaint, and maybe I am just not reading carefully enough, is that SOMETIMES this impact text appeared in the talk and was redundant, and SOMETIMES it did not appear in the talk, and was part of the talk's flow. So again: interrupting the flow of the key content.
This book hit my radar because it was one of Neil Pasricha's top 20 reads of 2020 (great monthly email newsletter about books). I suspect Neil got the recommendation from Shane Parrish when Neil was a guest on the Knowledge Project podcast in mid-2020, as Shane is a Munger super-fan.
I have a copy of this huge, relatively rare/obscure coffee table book available to lend out if my Saskatoon friends are curious. If you think you might like it you probably will, but I think the 4.51 rating is over-inflated.
I really enjoyed all of the content. There is some history, some content around Charlie's decision-making framework, a bunch of random "Mungerisms" (Charlie quotes), and transcripts of eleven talks he's given to different audiences, reproduced with a brief, updated reflection after each. Charlie is erudite; self-taught across many disciplines and able to synthesize insights across disciplines, time and history. It's not a book about investing or finance, it's more about ethics, morality, human psychology, general business, sound judgement, and history.
Some of Charlie's collected quotes I am going to take away:
- "What you measure is what you get" - Jack Welch of GE
- "If you were to persuade, appeal to to interest and not to reason" - Ben Franklin.
- The iron rule of communication from Carl (C.F.) Braun, who built over 250 petrochemical plants: If you're issuing a directive, you must specify Who is going to do What, When, Where and most importantly Why. Apparently not including the Why was a fireable offence. I think we can all agree that when the "Why" is missing from company/organization policies, instructions from your boss, or requests from a colleague, it is very frustrating.
This is a big coffee table hardcover; about 12" by 12" and maybe 1.5" thick. A big monster. I have to credit this book with opening up a new reading style for me. It turns out a coffee table book is perfect to read at the table over one's morning coffee or solo meals, as it holds itself open to the right page. So I'm looking forward to tackling at least 2 more large coffee table books in my collection that I've only flipped through but never read.
Two minor complaints. One, all core content on each page was framed by sidebars of random facts and trivia collected by the editor. While interesting, trying to take in all this errata interrupted the flow of reading the talks (which read well as essays). Two, the editor takes key sentences in the middle of a talk/essay, and reproduces them in the middle of that essay in a larger font and bolded (you know what I mean, like a magazine article?). My complaint, and maybe I am just not reading carefully enough, is that SOMETIMES this impact text appeared in the talk and was redundant, and SOMETIMES it did not appear in the talk, and was part of the talk's flow. So again: interrupting the flow of the key content.
This book hit my radar because it was one of Neil Pasricha's top 20 reads of 2020 (great monthly email newsletter about books). I suspect Neil got the recommendation from Shane Parrish when Neil was a guest on the Knowledge Project podcast in mid-2020, as Shane is a Munger super-fan.
I have a copy of this huge, relatively rare/obscure coffee table book available to lend out if my Saskatoon friends are curious. If you think you might like it you probably will, but I think the 4.51 rating is over-inflated.
December 31, 2024
Lots of wisdom nuggets. Should be part of your yearly re-read!
November 17, 2024
Less expensive than business school but almost as good. Brilliant audiobook!
June 21, 2016
A life lesson I've learned: Have a sense of humor. Restrict yourself to your own garden, live in the present moment, lower your expectations, surround yourself with the love of friends and family and you will be happy.
An outstanding book! It will help you develop a multidisciplinary mental model approach needed to solve problems using different perspectives from different disciplines. The best part was the introduction into 25 biases with a detailed description of some antidotes to errors of misjudgment and how to fix them.
Munger writes about the importance of becoming a lifetime learner. He gives a lot of advices on how to learn and the importance to create your own opinions an use them wisely.
Without lifetime learning, he says: "you people are not going to do very well".
This isn't just a self help book, this is also a great business book with lessons you won't learn in school. The power of the opportunity costs, how to use incentives and decision making are the core parts of this book. The last chapter is the best part. Munger talks about psychology, human errors and how to fix them.
Here are some good advices:
"ln my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter
area) who didn't read all the time, none, zero.
"The human mind is not constructed so that it works well without having
reasons. You've got to hang reality on a theoretical structure with reasons. That's
the way it hangs together in usable form so that you're an effective thinker"
"I think when you're buying jewelry for the woman you love, financial considerations probably shouldn't enter into it."
"Apply logic to help avoid fooling yourself."
"You must know the big ideas in the big disciplines and use them routinely --- all of them,
not just a few. Most people are trained in one model-economics, for example --- and try
to solve all problems in one way. You know the old saying: 'To the man with a hammer,
the world looks like a nail.' This is a dumb way of handling problems."
"I have what I call an "iron prescription" that helps me keep sane
when I drift toward preferring one intense ideology over another. I
feel that I'm not entitled to have an opinion unless I can state the
arguments against my position better than the people who are in
opposition. I think that I am qualified to speak only when I've reached that state."
"Man is easily fooled, either by the cleverly thought out
manipulation of man, by circumstances occurring
by accident, or by very effective manipulation
practices that man has stumbled into during
"practice evolution" and kept in place because they
work so well. "
"Opportunity cost is a Superpower, to be used by all people who have any hope of
getting the right answer. Also, incentives are superpowers."
"So you can't learn psychology the way proffessors teach it. You've got to
learn everything they teach. But you've got to learn a lot more that they don't
teach because they don't handle their own subjects corectly "
"If something is very important but can't be perfectly and precisely
demonstrated because of ethical constraints, you can't just meant it like it doesn't
exist."
"Thinking by inversion and through use of "checklists" is easily learning"
"Failure to handle psychological denial is a common way
for people to go broke. You've made an enormous commitment to something.
You've poured effort and money in. And the more you put in, the more that the
whole consistency principle makes you think, "Now it has to work. If I put in just
a little more, then it'll work. "
"Each person has to play the game given his own marginal utility considerations
and in a way that takes into account his own psychology. If losses are going to make
you miserable-and some losses are inevitable-you might be wise to utilize a very
conservative pattern of investment and saving all your life"
An outstanding book! It will help you develop a multidisciplinary mental model approach needed to solve problems using different perspectives from different disciplines. The best part was the introduction into 25 biases with a detailed description of some antidotes to errors of misjudgment and how to fix them.
Munger writes about the importance of becoming a lifetime learner. He gives a lot of advices on how to learn and the importance to create your own opinions an use them wisely.
Without lifetime learning, he says: "you people are not going to do very well".
This isn't just a self help book, this is also a great business book with lessons you won't learn in school. The power of the opportunity costs, how to use incentives and decision making are the core parts of this book. The last chapter is the best part. Munger talks about psychology, human errors and how to fix them.
Here are some good advices:
"ln my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter
area) who didn't read all the time, none, zero.
"The human mind is not constructed so that it works well without having
reasons. You've got to hang reality on a theoretical structure with reasons. That's
the way it hangs together in usable form so that you're an effective thinker"
"I think when you're buying jewelry for the woman you love, financial considerations probably shouldn't enter into it."
"Apply logic to help avoid fooling yourself."
"You must know the big ideas in the big disciplines and use them routinely --- all of them,
not just a few. Most people are trained in one model-economics, for example --- and try
to solve all problems in one way. You know the old saying: 'To the man with a hammer,
the world looks like a nail.' This is a dumb way of handling problems."
"I have what I call an "iron prescription" that helps me keep sane
when I drift toward preferring one intense ideology over another. I
feel that I'm not entitled to have an opinion unless I can state the
arguments against my position better than the people who are in
opposition. I think that I am qualified to speak only when I've reached that state."
"Man is easily fooled, either by the cleverly thought out
manipulation of man, by circumstances occurring
by accident, or by very effective manipulation
practices that man has stumbled into during
"practice evolution" and kept in place because they
work so well. "
"Opportunity cost is a Superpower, to be used by all people who have any hope of
getting the right answer. Also, incentives are superpowers."
"So you can't learn psychology the way proffessors teach it. You've got to
learn everything they teach. But you've got to learn a lot more that they don't
teach because they don't handle their own subjects corectly "
"If something is very important but can't be perfectly and precisely
demonstrated because of ethical constraints, you can't just meant it like it doesn't
exist."
"Thinking by inversion and through use of "checklists" is easily learning"
"Failure to handle psychological denial is a common way
for people to go broke. You've made an enormous commitment to something.
You've poured effort and money in. And the more you put in, the more that the
whole consistency principle makes you think, "Now it has to work. If I put in just
a little more, then it'll work. "
"Each person has to play the game given his own marginal utility considerations
and in a way that takes into account his own psychology. If losses are going to make
you miserable-and some losses are inevitable-you might be wise to utilize a very
conservative pattern of investment and saving all your life"
February 25, 2016
An impressive tome from the relatively obscure Charlie Munger, Managing Partner at Berkshire Hathaway--Warren Buffett's company.
Charlie is a polymath. And he fashions himself a modern day Benjamin Franklin, hence the title of the book. A reference to Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac.
Munger, like Franklin before him, has varied interests and is insanely curious. He uses that curiosity to be a deep generalist in business. He finds that in order to be effective in life we must embrace learning from multiple disciplines--biology, engineering, economics, psychology and so on.
He doesn't recommend becoming a master in all these fields as that's not practical for non-geniuses, only taking the best and most known principles from each and using them to improve your decision making and problem solving.
The last section of the book contains a nice primer on the common psychological biases and how they can blind you. It's a much more accessible and concise section than Daniel Kahnamen's Thinking Fast and Slow. Kahnamen's book is a more exhaustive treatise on the cognitive biases. Munger's exposition is great for beginners.
This volume is huge and the book is in a large, coffee table style format, making it hard to read or put in your bag. Hopefully, an ebook version is released because there is tons of useful information here. It would be sad if that access is limited due to the book being unwieldy to read or carry.
Infinitely rereadable and practical. Highly recommended.
Charlie is a polymath. And he fashions himself a modern day Benjamin Franklin, hence the title of the book. A reference to Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac.
Munger, like Franklin before him, has varied interests and is insanely curious. He uses that curiosity to be a deep generalist in business. He finds that in order to be effective in life we must embrace learning from multiple disciplines--biology, engineering, economics, psychology and so on.
He doesn't recommend becoming a master in all these fields as that's not practical for non-geniuses, only taking the best and most known principles from each and using them to improve your decision making and problem solving.
The last section of the book contains a nice primer on the common psychological biases and how they can blind you. It's a much more accessible and concise section than Daniel Kahnamen's Thinking Fast and Slow. Kahnamen's book is a more exhaustive treatise on the cognitive biases. Munger's exposition is great for beginners.
This volume is huge and the book is in a large, coffee table style format, making it hard to read or put in your bag. Hopefully, an ebook version is released because there is tons of useful information here. It would be sad if that access is limited due to the book being unwieldy to read or carry.
Infinitely rereadable and practical. Highly recommended.
May 29, 2018
Torn between 3 and 4, but giving a generous 3.
Maybe I read the book a little later than I should have. There are excellent quotes through out the book. Some of the advise is timeless and useful. However, I have 2 main issues with the book:
- It repeats the theme again and again without using enough examples that bring out the theory
- The book can't decide between being a eulogy to one of the greats of the last century or investigating his methods
Having said that, I'd still recommend you check this out if you are not fully aware of mental models, decision making processes and like a general rundown of humanities.
The crux of the book is below:
The Two-Track Analysis (Pages 63, 64):
- What are the factors that really govern the interests involved, rationally considered? (for example, macro and micro-level economic factors).
- What are the subconscious influences, where the brain at a subconscious level is automatically forming conclusions? (influences from instincts, emotions, cravings, and so on).
Ultra-Simple, General Problem-Solving Notions (Pages 279-281):
- Decide the big "no-brainer" questions first.
- Apply numerical fluency. • Invert (think the problem through in reverse).
- Apply elementary multidisciplinary wisdom, never relying entirely upon others.
- Watch for combinations of factors-the Lollapalooza effect.
Psychology-BasedTendencies (Pages440-498):
- His famous Twenty-Five Standard Causes of Human Misjudgement
The book recommendations and references (there must be more than 100 through out the book) are great too.
Maybe I read the book a little later than I should have. There are excellent quotes through out the book. Some of the advise is timeless and useful. However, I have 2 main issues with the book:
- It repeats the theme again and again without using enough examples that bring out the theory
- The book can't decide between being a eulogy to one of the greats of the last century or investigating his methods
Having said that, I'd still recommend you check this out if you are not fully aware of mental models, decision making processes and like a general rundown of humanities.
The crux of the book is below:
The Two-Track Analysis (Pages 63, 64):
- What are the factors that really govern the interests involved, rationally considered? (for example, macro and micro-level economic factors).
- What are the subconscious influences, where the brain at a subconscious level is automatically forming conclusions? (influences from instincts, emotions, cravings, and so on).
Ultra-Simple, General Problem-Solving Notions (Pages 279-281):
- Decide the big "no-brainer" questions first.
- Apply numerical fluency. • Invert (think the problem through in reverse).
- Apply elementary multidisciplinary wisdom, never relying entirely upon others.
- Watch for combinations of factors-the Lollapalooza effect.
Psychology-BasedTendencies (Pages440-498):
- His famous Twenty-Five Standard Causes of Human Misjudgement
The book recommendations and references (there must be more than 100 through out the book) are great too.
July 3, 2017
Munger is a wisdom god. This book just replaced "The Complete Sherlock Holmes" as the best book I've ever read.
Charlie's life has been described in the prior part of the book with various stories from him about his childhood, his marriage, his lost son to leukemia and many more. Following these, are the speeches delivered by Munger through the years of which the last one is just too good, on psychological tendencies (and mistendencies).
Colorful Charlie as Warren describes him speaks his mind and at some places comes out pretty strong which I liked especially.
Initially when I thought about investing from Graham's point of view, I didn't think that his method was difficult enough that majority of people won't be able to implement it and that would lead to loss of opportunities. Charlie's multidisciplinary approach to investment (or anything else) is more difficult and makes more sense that less people will be able to implement it effectively. This looks like a correct reality to me.
Charlie's life has been described in the prior part of the book with various stories from him about his childhood, his marriage, his lost son to leukemia and many more. Following these, are the speeches delivered by Munger through the years of which the last one is just too good, on psychological tendencies (and mistendencies).
Colorful Charlie as Warren describes him speaks his mind and at some places comes out pretty strong which I liked especially.
Initially when I thought about investing from Graham's point of view, I didn't think that his method was difficult enough that majority of people won't be able to implement it and that would lead to loss of opportunities. Charlie's multidisciplinary approach to investment (or anything else) is more difficult and makes more sense that less people will be able to implement it effectively. This looks like a correct reality to me.
January 6, 2019
《窮查里的普通常識》
開始不再主看所謂文學之後，嶄新的宇宙地圖一下展開。如同先前領悟的，好看不在理財（事實上也沒講多少理財），而是對這個世界的思考。
不同於巴菲特寫的股東信內容飽滿容易一閃而逝，這本蒙格演講稿的合集，核心反覆提及的概念就這幾個：反向思考、跨領域辯證、人類的不理性及心理學。反覆辯證十分過癮。
「找到好配偶的最佳方法是什麼呢？唯一之道是你首先必須值得擁有好配偶，因為從定義上來說，好配偶可絕對不是傻瓜。」
—>特別適用在今晚惹火彼此的我們要珍惜！
「有意識地養成歡迎壞消息的習慣。」
「務實地去看清真相，但仍然去愛。」
可以想想公投。「如果你想要說服別人，要訴諸利益，而非理性。」
有時也講信任「無論你們多麽聰明，總有一些更聰明的人，如果他們真的想騙你們，你們就會上當。因此，要確定與你們共事的聰明人是值得信賴的。」
「大致的正確好過精準的錯誤。」
「鐵鎚人症候群。」
給社會的暮鼓晨鐘「保持<可輕易消除之無知>，就是在道德責任上的背叛。」
我一直以來也是這樣衡量信度的標準「如果一個機構在複雜的大環境中，有一方面做得不夠好，那麼其他方面也非常有可能做得不夠好。」（白話文就是一個意見領袖如果發表一篇充滿謬論的醫學看法，我怎麼能知道他講其他我不懂得東西是正確的。）
裡面其實也有中間偏右的思考「如果少數人的不公平可以換得整體的最佳公平，是可允許的」。這對一直以來（可能太）左膠的我是衝擊的。但這可能真的是務實的（雖然我還是主張任何人的權利不能被犧牲）。
而雖然是中間偏右，我們還是可以輕易看到他們是以高度的道德、正義感在自我約束的。
最後，也是貼身的，可能跟（朋友介紹的我還沒做過的）禪坐相呼應，在這個過程我開始會拉開，內省自己。我現在的舉動是出於嫉妒（芽～常常發生）而無助於現實嗎？我是不是變成一個美化財務報表而營收實際沒成長的人呢？一旦開始內省真的是千瘡百孔呀（煙）。
那日在內人有人家跨年，他的朋友們一個人的案頭書是漢娜.鄂蘭，另一人是「數位時代」雜誌。更憤青時候的我非常不屑那種包裝成功的中產雜誌，在閱讀這本書時才練習到了真正的方法，用眼睛把冗言撕掉（以這本書而言是前後無用的吹捧），裡面遍是金砂。
開始不再主看所謂文學之後，嶄新的宇宙地圖一下展開。如同先前領悟的，好看不在理財（事實上也沒講多少理財），而是對這個世界的思考。
不同於巴菲特寫的股東信內容飽滿容易一閃而逝，這本蒙格演講稿的合集，核心反覆提及的概念就這幾個：反向思考、跨領域辯證、人類的不理性及心理學。反覆辯證十分過癮。
「找到好配偶的最佳方法是什麼呢？唯一之道是你首先必須值得擁有好配偶，因為從定義上來說，好配偶可絕對不是傻瓜。」
—>特別適用在今晚惹火彼此的我們要珍惜！
「有意識地養成歡迎壞消息的習慣。」
「務實地去看清真相，但仍然去愛。」
可以想想公投。「如果你想要說服別人，要訴諸利益，而非理性。」
有時也講信任「無論你們多麽聰明，總有一些更聰明的人，如果他們真的想騙你們，你們就會上當。因此，要確定與你們共事的聰明人是值得信賴的。」
「大致的正確好過精準的錯誤。」
「鐵鎚人症候群。」
給社會的暮鼓晨鐘「保持<可輕易消除之無知>，就是在道德責任上的背叛。」
我一直以來也是這樣衡量信度的標準「如果一個機構在複雜的大環境中，有一方面做得不夠好，那麼其他方面也非常有可能做得不夠好。」（白話文就是一個意見領袖如果發表一篇充滿謬論的醫學看法，我怎麼能知道他講其他我不懂得東西是正確的。）
裡面其實也有中間偏右的思考「如果少數人的不公平可以換得整體的最佳公平，是可允許的」。這對一直以來（可能太）左膠的我是衝擊的。但這可能真的是務實的（雖然我還是主張任何人的權利不能被犧牲）。
而雖然是中間偏右，我們還是可以輕易看到他們是以高度的道德、正義感在自我約束的。
最後，也是貼身的，可能跟（朋友介紹的我還沒做過的）禪坐相呼應，在這個過程我開始會拉開，內省自己。我現在的舉動是出於嫉妒（芽～常常發生）而無助於現實嗎？我是不是變成一個美化財務報表而營收實際沒成長的人呢？一旦開始內省真的是千瘡百孔呀（煙）。
那日在內人有人家跨年，他的朋友們一個人的案頭書是漢娜.鄂蘭，另一人是「數位時代」雜誌。更憤青時候的我非常不屑那種包裝成功的中產雜誌，在閱讀這本書時才練習到了真正的方法，用眼睛把冗言撕掉（以這本書而言是前後無用的吹捧），裡面遍是金砂。
February 25, 2012
I feel like I rate every book 5 stars these days, but there are just so many great books. Maybe I'm just getting lucky at picking books or maybe I'm easy to please when it comes to books.
I will say this book is now added to my favorite list. It is filled with grandfatherly common-sense wisdom. Some of it on business and investing, but most of it is applicable to any aspect of life. He talks at length about psychology and how important it is and how it can be improved, along with lots of other broad ranging topics. The book is long at 498 page, and can be redundant at times, but that is unavoidable due to the large scope of the book and the format being letters, speeches, interviews, etc. dispersed throughout. Still, the book is a phenomenal read. Just be glad you're not Katie right now - she's been hearing me talk about this book non-stop.
I will say this book is now added to my favorite list. It is filled with grandfatherly common-sense wisdom. Some of it on business and investing, but most of it is applicable to any aspect of life. He talks at length about psychology and how important it is and how it can be improved, along with lots of other broad ranging topics. The book is long at 498 page, and can be redundant at times, but that is unavoidable due to the large scope of the book and the format being letters, speeches, interviews, etc. dispersed throughout. Still, the book is a phenomenal read. Just be glad you're not Katie right now - she's been hearing me talk about this book non-stop.
October 29, 2014
I would highly recommend this reading for anyone who wants to get the most out of life, as well as gain a perspective on how his investment philosophy. Munger shares with us his wisdom and expound them with great examples. The first part consists of Munger's life stories, as well as what close friends and family say about Munger. The second part consists of mainly the speeches that Munger has made, which I think can be easily found elsewhere online. So for those who can't manage to get the book (I almost couldn't) please google and read them. They have been the most valuable, though it is ultimately up to you again to work on what he has offered.
February 15, 2016
Must read and must study book. A bible for deep analysis and wisdom of one who proved his superior intelligence in real world business investments and helped build one of the most profitable businesses in the world. But it is not just relevant for business objectives but for philosophical thinking and the deep understanding of things. So for all who love mental models, frameworks and behavioral phenomenons in general.
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