Key takeaways from my read list:
> I regard utility as the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions, but it must be utility in the larger sense, grounded on the permanent interest of man as a progressive being
> For those with limited options, the free market isn't exactly free, almost to the extent of coercion for some eg. homeless
> Justice is not only about the right way to distribute things, but also the right way to value things
> Thomas Jefferson: On matters of style, swim with the current. On matters of principles, stand like a rock
> Argue like you are right, and listen like you are wrong
> First movers advantage is a tactic not a goal. It only exists when its a patented technology, or there are strong network effects at play
> For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away
> Cereal producers spend twice as much on advertising, than on the actual ingredients
> Low fat milk is labeled to hold 2% fat, where in actual fact, only hold 3% of fat. Thus, gives the illusion that it's a healthy option
> Kosher salt's unique shape is designed to dissolve 3 times faster than normal salt, enabling the taste to hit your brain faster
> Loss aversion: It could be more effective to emphasize that there is something to lose by inaction, compared to selling all the upside of taking action.
> Humans interpret messages based on 3 factors: words (7%), body language (38%), and facial expression (55%) *You are probably unconvinced
> Creating resonance: Mirror body language, tone & tempo of voice, and repeat the 3 most important words of the opposite party's reply.
> Essentialist systematically explores more options, than the non-essentialist. Non-essentialist forfeits the right to choose, while essentialist exercises it.
> Essentialist explore more, to go big on a few.
> Fewer things done better. Saying no, so you can focus on the yes.
7. Little book of common sense investing - The only way to guarantee your fair share of stock market returns
> In the long run, value (price) is driven by enterprise value, only 0.1% is derived from speculative returns. Emotions in the short run, dissolves in the long run.
> S&P 500 outperformed 58% of the leading actively managed funds, not accounting for the effects of survivorship bias, which excludes the firms that went bust.
> Monte Carlo simulation: in 1 year, 29% of actively managed fund will outpace the index. In 5 years, only 15%. In 10 years, only 9%. And in 25 years, only 5%.
> We favour the comforts of conviction, over the discomfort of doubt. We laugh at people using windows 95, but we still cling to the opinions we formed in 1995
> Dunning Kruger effect: its when we lack confidence that we tend to exude overconfidence. The one who knows the least tends to think they know the most. The more we think we know about a subject, the more we overestimate ourselves, and the less interested we are about learning.
> In helping children think about careers - let children see work as what they do, rather than who they are. Make them more open to exploring possibilities. Asking them if they are interested in science, compared to asking if they wanna be a scientist.
> People who pursue meaning & purpose in their job, are more successful and less likely to quit their jobs, than those who look for joy. Joy wanes but meaning lasts.
> 3 legs of Obamacare - Can’t change any element of Obamacare without destroying the whole thing. 1) Requires insurers to offer the same plan at same price to everyone, regardless of medical history. 2) Making sure everyone buys, even healthy people, so the economics makes sense. 3) Subsidies, to lower the cost for lower income.
> ⅓ of US corporate profits flows to foreigners, either through foreign subsidiaries, or foreign-owned US stocks
> 84% of stocks are owned by the wealthiest 10% of US citizens
> Low proposed to use 1MDB to create good jobs, especially in clean energy, to benefit the citizens and economy. This would also be used as a political war chest to promote UMO, which was what Najib was interested in. By labelling it as “CSR”, the plan was to issue scholarships and grants to areas which they needed political support
> “Interest on layers trust account" (IOLTA): usually used when law firms hold cash for short term, allowing them to earn interest. Low used this to earn and shield his identity as details of IOLTA are protected to ensure lawyer-client privileges. IOLTA has been legal for over 30 years, initially a means for law firms to earn some money to do pro bono work for the poor. But Low abused it.
> Low wanted to re-evaluate land property, and sign off the profits from land appreciation, to show progress of 1MDB
> Happiness is determined more about the state of one’s mind, than ones external conditions, at least once basic survival needs are met
> People view their work differently 1) to earn money, 2) career - development, promotion, and going higher in their fields, and 3) calling - contributing to greater good, sense of meaning, or higher purpose. Those in the third bucket are usually happier.
12. Blue ocean strategy - How to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant
> Instead of focusing on beating the competitor, focus on making the competition irrevelant.
> When CNN offered 24 hours news, 7 days a week, and without any star broadcasters, it was ridiculed as “chicken noodle news”.
> Stock markets have fixed trading times (aka thick markets), which forces everyone to get together and easily find agreeable prices, hence thinner margins. As compared to 24 hours trading (like in crypto), it leads to wider spreads
> We get richer by destroying jobs, by doing the same amount of work with lesser people
> Money has value because people think it has value. When they lose confidence in money, they withdraw paper bills from the banks. Then they lose confidence in paper bills, they exchange it for gold
> The future of money: 1) A world without cash, 2) A world without banks, 3) A world where governments print money and gives to anyone who wants a job.
> 3 types of errors: manipulating how numbers are accumulated, counted, and presented
> In the advertisement that "4/5 of dentist recommends Sensodyne", the survey allowed participants to list multiple choices, so Colgate was actually also mentioned as many times
> David Blaine's world record for holding his breathe for 17 minutes. He was on Ted Talk, but there are 5000 ted events, and only 2 are vetted by Ted - Ted Talk & Ted Global. David Blaine spoke at Ted Med. Not saying that it's not true, but it was unvetted.
> 3 ways we learn about new information: discovering ourselves, absorbing implicitly, being told explicitly.
> Using negative interest rates to boost spending only works in a digital money world. If your money is in the bank, banks have influence. But if you withdrew it as cash, the banks have no leverage
> Post Britton Woods, changed from fixed exchange rates to floating exchange rates to allow countries to devalue their currency when needed
> World money started with gold. Banks started issuing notes for gold deposits, and soon realised that they can lend out gold to states who needed them. The ability to lend out more than they have led to fractional reserves banking
> The stages of economic lives: 1) Hunter gathering societies 2) Agriculture societies 3) Industrial societies 4) Information societies. Currently transiting to the 5th stage: social organisation
> Hidden mega political factors affecting history. (1) Topography - Proximity to waters determined one's ability to grow crops. Greek farmers near the sea grew high value products like oil and olives, thus having the money to buy armour & weaponry. (2) Climate - Warmer climates had higher yield crops, which led to higher income levels. Conversely, colder climates led to reduced crop yield, and higher debt defaults. (3) Microbes - Tropical Africa was resistant to invasions from the whites due to malaria as white armies couldn't cope there. (4) Technology - As artillery had longer range, jurisdictions consolidated and formed larger bodies. But as technology became more dispersed, power will be more widely distributed and form smaller scale of governments.
> Churches played a vital role in maintaining peace & order, as it was a job that no secular power could do. It was also the main source of transmitting knowledge as they held resources on farming and husbandry.
> When gunpowder came to prominence, it was impossible to be powerful without being rich
17. The infinite machine - How an army of crypto-hackers is building the next internet with Ethereum
> Vitalik struggled with fitting in real life, was always alone. But in the crypto community, he was the go-to person and everyone spoke the same language & interest.
> Released Ethereum white paper in 2013 which promised to be Turing complete, fulfilling what BTC could not do
> 70-90% of crypto exchanges faked trading volumes
> Life 1.0 (biological stage): where life's hardware and software are evolved, not designed eg. bacteria. Life 2.0 (cultural stage): where hardware evolved but software is designed eg. humans. Having the ability to run, sing, think, learn. Life 3.0 (technological stage): where life's hardware and software are both designed.
> Future of jobs are those that require working with people, requires creativity, or working in uncertain environments.
> Most processes are very energy inefficient. Nuclear reactors are only 0.08% energy efficient, by splitting uranium atoms through fissions. In Einstein's formula E=MC2, a slight change in mass could create exponentially more energy. If our stomachs were just 0.001% efficient, we would only need to eat a single meal for the rest of our lives.
> Its hard for humans to swat a fly as it takes longer for information to be passed from our brain to our hand, but much faster for a small insect to escape. Thus, going big allows us to have more complete thoughts, but also mean we move slower.
> Humans are not just about staying alive, but about finding out what are we living for
> Jack's first company, Hope, was a translation agency. Soon started seeing gifts, flowers, and carpets, a precursor to Taobao
> When he first found out about the internet in USA, he searched for China but nothing came up. He immediately created a website for Hope, and received 5 emails from people across the world within a few days.
> Unlike Ebay, Taobao decided to forgo merchant listing fees and was forced to monetise in other ways. Had to prevent users from taking the transaction off the platform, but since Taobao was free, they stayed on the platform.
> Yahoo china sold for $1B in exchange for 40% of Alibaba
> Lead by first principles. You can argue opinions, but you can't argue first principles.
> What do you want from a coach? Someone who tells you what you don't see, says what you don't want to hear, so you can achieve what you want to do.
> Active listening: asking questions that promotes discovery, and not dishing advice
> Things that matter to people: love, family, money, attention, power, meaning, and purpose
> 2 kinds of errors: Biased (systematic deviation) or noisy errors (random scatter)
> We can measure noise without knowing the true value. Just like being able to analyse a doctor's diagnosis, without knowing the actual illness.
> Measuring errors: Mean square error. Large errors have greater weight than small errors, this it all gravitates towards the mean.
> Judgements can be affected by noise like mood. Asking participants to recall a happy memory affects how they think and how corporative they become.
22. When - The scientific secrets of perfect timing (currently reading)
Think again & billion dollar whale is a personal favourite too