Weekly Highlights #11
A weekly round-up of things I found interesting, fun or useful.
📚 Books
One of my favourite passages from the book Poor Charlie’s Almanack perfectly summarises human psychology.
“I think the reason why we got into such idiocy in investment management is best illustrated by a story that I tell about the guy who sold fishing tackle. I asked him, “My god, they're purple and green. Do fish really take these lures?” And he said, “Mister, I don't sell to fish.”
Charles T. Munger, Poor Charlie’s Almanack
The authors of How to Read a Book share some advice on how to read philosophy which I found helpful.
"The questions that philosophers ask also serve to distinguish subordinate branches of the two main divisions of philosophy. A work of speculative or theoretical philosophy is metaphysical if it is mainly concerned with questions about being or existence. It is a work in the philosophy of nature if it is concerned with becoming-with the nature and kinds of changes, their conditions and causes. If its primary concern is with knowledge-with questions about what is involved in our knowing anything, with the causes, extent, and limits of human knowledge, and with its certainties and uncertainties-then it is a work in epistemology, which is just another name for theory of knowledge. Turning from theoretical to normative philosophy, the main distinction is between questions about the good life and what is right or wrong in the conduct of the individual, all of which fall within the sphere of ethics, and questions about the good society and the conduct of the individual in relation to the community-the sphere of politics or political philosophy."
Charles Van Doren, Mortimer J. Adler, How to Read a Book
🎧 Podcasts
The Second World War has always fascinated me and this episode on the preparation that went into the D-Day landings mainly from a British intelligence point of view is outrageous at times and pure genius at others. Highly recommend.
💭 Quotes
“As long as I have a book in my hand, I don't feel like I'm wasting time.”
-Charlie Munger
"We remember the martyrs who died for a cause that we knew about, never those no less effective in their contribution but whose cause we were never aware of-precisely because they were successful."
-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan
"If you take risks and face your fate with dignity, there is nothing you can do that makes you small; if you don't take risks, there is nothing you can do that makes you grand, nothing."
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile
❓ Questions
History is always remembered from the winners perspective. The classic good vs evil story. But within the ranks of both sides are heroes and villains and doing something virtuous, noble or courageous and losing is no more insignificant than those who do the same and win. Why do we have such a bias for those who win?
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Until next time, The School of Knowledge.
Photo by Elina Sazonova: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-fishing-rod-at-the-shore-1838587/