Links - 01/16/2022
“Leverage is what causes people trouble in this world. You never want to be in a position where somebody can pull the rug out from under you. And you also never want to be emotionally in a position where you pull the rug out from under yourself.” —Warren Buffett (2009)
Value investing wizard Bob Robotti on the topsy-turvy market, why North American industrials are a good stock pick, and how China’s economy is driving inflation [H/T @ShaiDardashti] (LINK)
Robotti Annual Meeting Transcript November 2021 (LINK)
The Renaissance Man of Venture Capital (LINK)
Lux Capital’s Josh Wolfe is channeling sci-fi to bank on “the inevitable arrow of progress.”
How a Flood of Money Swamped Cathie Wood’s Ark - by Jason Zweig (LINK)
Cliff Asness Says It’s ‘Too Early to Gloat’ as Value Stocks Rally (LINK)
What A World - by Morgan Housel (LINK)
Corporate Excess - by Roger Lowenstein (LINK)
How GE Violated Its Own Compensation Principles—and How Flawed Policies Led to a Fabled Company’s Long Decline
The Investors First Podcast: Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal: Traders vs. Investors, “Conflict-Free” Advice & Investing Heroes (LINK)
This Week in Intelligent Investing Podcast: Investing and Life Lessons from Lou Simpson | Lumpy 15 Percent ＞ Smooth 12 Percent (LINK)
The Investor’s Podcast: TIP414: Investing and Life Masterclass w/ Guy Spier (LINK)
Asia Tech Strategy Podcast: How Digital Is Wrecking Havoc on Barriers to Entry (LINK)
The Rest Is History Podcast: 137. 1922: The Birth of the Modern World Part 2 (LINK)
The Tonga eruption explained, from tsunami warnings to sonic booms - by Robin George Andrews (LINK) [The author also had a great Twitter thread on the topic.]
Will Smith on life and learning, via his memoir, Will:
People often say ignorance is bliss.
Maybe . . . right up until it’s not.
We punish ourselves for not knowing. We always complain about what we could and should have done, and how much of a mistake it was that we did that thing, that unforgivable thing. We beat on ourselves for being so stupid, regretting our choices and lamenting the horrible decisions we make.
But here’s the reality—that’s what life is. Living is the journey from not knowing to knowing. From not understanding to understanding. From confusion to clarity. By universal design you are born into a perplexing situation, bewildered, and you have one job as a human: figure this shit out.
Life is learning. Period. Overcoming ignorance is the whole point of the journey. You’re not supposed to know at the beginning. The whole point of venturing into uncertainty is to bring light to the darkness of our ignorance. I heard a great saying once: Life is like school, with one key difference—in school you get the lesson, and then you take the test. But in life, you get the test, and it’s your job to take the lesson.
We’re all waiting until we have deep knowledge, wisdom, and a sense of certainty before we venture forth. But we’ve got it backward—venturing forth is how we gain the knowledge.
Over the next few years, while our ignorance would rain down a deluge of pain and suffering, when I look back, I see clearly it could have been no other way. The universe only teaches through experience.
So, even when you haven’t the slightest clue what you’re doing, you just have to take a deep breath and get on the damn bus.