The Three Buckets of Knowledge
The three most fundamental sources of knowledge are physics, math, and human history. They offer us endless learning and mental models. Here’s how mastering the three buckets of knowledge can give you …
Charlie Munger
Charlie Munger on the Medical System
Long a fount of wisdom, Charlie Munger provided us fascinating insight on everything from energy policy and mental models to how good gamblers think and making effective decisions. At the Daily …
The Best Way to Get Smarter? Learn to Read the Right Way.
There is a Buffett & Munger interview from 2013 that we reflect on frequently. They discuss how they’ve leaped ahead of their peers and competitors time and time again: Munger: We’ve learned how …
Need to Improve your Relations with Others? Start by Getting Human Nature Right
Most of us periodically struggle to manage our relationships, whether we’re trying to manage a company, a team, a marriage, or a friendship. The problem is that we’re often fighting, …
How Darwin Thought: The Golden Rule of Thinking
In his 1986 speech at the commencement of Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles (found in Poor Charlie’s Almanack) Charlie Munger gave a short Johnny Carson-like speech on the things to avoid …
Steven Pinker: What a Broad Education Should Entail
Harvard’s biologist/psychologist Steven Pinker is one of my favorites, even though I’m just starting to get into his work. What makes him great is not just his rational mind, but his …
E.O. Wilson on Becoming a Great Scientist
The biologist E.O. Wilson, now of Harvard University, made his first and largest splash by releasing his book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, which made the controversial claim (at the time) that …
Dan Ariely on How and Why We Cheat
We all like to think of ourselves as honest, but there are inevitably certain situations in which we’re more likely to cheat. There are many things that make us less honest, like feeling disconnected …
Three Filters Needed to Think Through Problems
One of the best parts of Garrett Hardin‘s wonderful Filters Against Folly is when he explores the three filters that help us interpret reality. No matter how much we’d like it to, the …
The Effect of Scale in Social Science, or Why Utopia Doesn’t Work
Things change as they scale, often drastically. This is true for living creatures and it’s especially true for social systems. Here’s how the dynamics of social groups change as the numbers do and why …
The Map Is Not the Territory
The following is an edited excerpt from The Great Mental Models Volume 1: General Thinking Tools The map of reality is not reality. Even the best maps are imperfect. That’s because maps are reductions …
Charlie Munger: 2008 DuBridge Lecture (Transcript)
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Keeping Things Simple and Tuning out Folly
Keeping things simple makes a huge difference and yet we are drawn to the sexiness of complexity. Einstein was a master of sifting the essential from the non-essential. And consider this from Charlie …
The Pursuit of Worldly Wisdom
Charlie Munger, the billionaire business partner of Warren Buffett and a major inspiration behind this site, is not only one of the best investors the world has witnessed, but he’s also one of …
Charlie Munger on Avoiding Computers
An anecdote found in Seeking Wisdom, that reminds me of a funny story from university and the use of calculators. First, the excerpt. When someone asked Charlie Munger if he used a computer, he …
The Two Types of Knowledge: The Max Planck/Chauffeur Test
Charlie Munger, the billionaire business partner of Warren Buffett, frequently tells the story below to illustrate how to distinguish between the two types of knowledge: real knowledge and pretend …