Voltaire thought that history is the record of the crimes and absurdities of mankind. I thought that was a very unworthy definition. I should say history is the record of the activities of mankind and it has two sides — one is the crimes and absurdities and the other is the contributions to civilization, the lasting developments which enabled each generation to proceed with a larger heritage than the one before. And that to me is the meaning of history.
All posts filed under “Notes”
Liquidity Equilibrium
Accepting Idiosyncratic Portfolios
Establishing and maintaining an unconventional investment profile requires acceptance of uncomfortably idiosyncratic portfolios, which frequently appear downright imprudent in the eyes of conventional wisdom.
Smart People
It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.
Investment Performance
Doing Something That People Said Would Never Be Done
The greatest pleasure I’ve had is to try to do something that people said would never be done.
Gold Rush Genius
Subtractive Epistemology
The most robust contribution to knowledge consists in removing what we think is wrong—subtractive epistemology.
Reading All The Time
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.