I love this! It reminds me of a similar misconception about writing — an image of Thoreau going into the forest to be a hermit and write Walden. Modern writing is about assembling existing pieces, and a way to accelerate learning is through talking to people.
Hi Christina! That's another excellent piece of mythology that can trap people. I have been working on a draft contrasting different styles (isolation vs. network/engagement) and I think the answer is typically a balance with a bias to fit your personality. I agree that much of modern writing is about synthesis and remix; and often emerges through conversation.
We don't have to live in a temple to become a monk. We don't have to go into the forest to become a writer. There are plenty of ways and the key is to find the unique one that works for each of us.
How did you find, and how do you continue to rediscover your path Frederik? How do you find the inspiration to keep going? I would love to hear from you!
There is no one thing people should do that leads to success. Life and success is not that simple.
There is no best way to do anything and if there was soon others would do it and reduce its effectiveness.
One observation is commonly quoted that reading is a path to success. Reading is only useful if you think about what you learnt and then use that insight to change the way you view the world and change your strategy/actions.
The quality of what you read is important. Most of what you read is rubbish and most news is noise.
I have made a conscious effort to read better quality books and fewer newer books because they are newer doesn't mean they are better.
Excellent article, the quotes from the books were interesting and helped support your ideas and entertain.
This was a beautiful piece.. it struck a note with me since I give into reading for umpteen hours under the impression that I am compounding my knowledge.. But every time I discuss with another analyst, it creates a more nuanced perspective on the stock I was researching on.. It's like you get additional pair of eyes that you can look at the same problem from.. Your piece was a wake up call to indeed pick my phone more often.. Thanks..
Great thesis about Buffett doing more than just reading and your writing and book excerpts certainly proved he was doing more. Thanks for sharing your perspective on something well covered. I learned and you got me thinking! 🤔🌟
This is an interesting piece. It is much easier to find quality, relevant reading material (increasing the relative returns to reading) and it is now much easier and cheaper to collaborate remotely - you can't as easily build trust without meeting in person but subsequent collaboration is much easier online. There is also definitely a trend where many in-person events were replaced by transcripts, which are much faster to consume and make it easier to go back and focus on a topic.
Buffett has also warned about too much collaboration leading to groupthink, and the value of living in Omaha where by default the majority of your time will be thinking and reading. At the very least he could curate who he spent time with.
I see this as being a very relevant topic outside investing, where every organization is trying to figure out the optimal organization post-Covid - locate everyone remotely, bring everyone in the office, or a hybrid?
I know there is some research where people have tried to figure out if the internet has lowered to value of being an academic researcher at a prestigious institution - part of the value was that it was easier to collaborate with other top researchers in the same office, but you can measure the % of highly cited papers written by collaborators at distant institutions and I think it's gone up. I just can't find it right now.
My main point, I should have made this more clearly, was this: don't try to out-read your competition. Relationships in combination with a healthy dose of reading will build a more lasting advantage (if there is such a thing). Transcripts of earnings calls or expert calls - even conducting expert calls - fall into the reading/information absorption bucket.
Being in Omaha (or the Bahamas like Templeton) is a trade-off. Less noise, less inbound. Requires more proactive effort. I see this as mostly being about personal fit/style. A topic to be explored another time.
That research sounds interesting. I agree that the value of travel has must have declined significantly thanks to the armada of new communication tools and ability to build more trust online.
That is definitely true! I believe Buffett has another line, that if studying history is all that matters, then the Forbes 400 would be made up entirely of historians. And also the line being a businessperson makes you a better investor and vice versa. Certainly there are increasing returns to combining the different inputs vs. just reading or just relationships or just hands on experience.
I always thought the generic advice to read a lot was incomplete and I think you spell. out why in a very convincing fashion. Well done!
Thank you, Simon!
Thanks for this great article
Thank you, Reynaldo!
I love this! It reminds me of a similar misconception about writing — an image of Thoreau going into the forest to be a hermit and write Walden. Modern writing is about assembling existing pieces, and a way to accelerate learning is through talking to people.
Hi Christina! That's another excellent piece of mythology that can trap people. I have been working on a draft contrasting different styles (isolation vs. network/engagement) and I think the answer is typically a balance with a bias to fit your personality. I agree that much of modern writing is about synthesis and remix; and often emerges through conversation.
Eager to read that piece! By random chance, have you heard of https://www.foster.co/ and if so what are your thoughts?
btw I loved this piece so much that I included it in my recent curation of excellent reads 🙂 https://twitter.com/healthwealthgen/status/1461080304278392832
Thank you for sharing & just subscribed! Yes, I'm familiar with Foster. Feel free to shoot me an email if you want to discuss.
Much appreciated — just sent you an email!
We don't have to live in a temple to become a monk. We don't have to go into the forest to become a writer. There are plenty of ways and the key is to find the unique one that works for each of us.
Well said. The world offers many paths and one will perfectly fit who you are.
How did you find, and how do you continue to rediscover your path Frederik? How do you find the inspiration to keep going? I would love to hear from you!
There is no one thing people should do that leads to success. Life and success is not that simple.
There is no best way to do anything and if there was soon others would do it and reduce its effectiveness.
One observation is commonly quoted that reading is a path to success. Reading is only useful if you think about what you learnt and then use that insight to change the way you view the world and change your strategy/actions.
The quality of what you read is important. Most of what you read is rubbish and most news is noise.
I have made a conscious effort to read better quality books and fewer newer books because they are newer doesn't mean they are better.
Excellent article, the quotes from the books were interesting and helped support your ideas and entertain.
Well said and thank you. I agree with the focus on fewer but higher quality books (really any information input).
Yesterday I went down the rabbit hole called Insecurity Analysis. I couldn’t be happier. Leave me alone.
Hi Joseph, glad you enjoyed the work!
Please don’t bother me, I went down this rabbit hole….🤛😀
An excellent essay and reminder that over-emphasizing any one variable can lead you astray. As they say in the game of chess, see the whole board.
Thank you, Cosmo!
You are going to rub a lot of reading fanatics the wrong way ! :D But thanks for showing the mirror as I am reading obsessed as well.
In a way this was a reminder to myself to do more than reading ;-)
Valuable read. Appreciate the well supported dose of reality
Thank you, Jeff!
Great piece
Thank you, Jerry!
Perspective…
Fantastic piece
Thanks, Will!
Absolutely fantastic! Separating rhetoric from reality. You just rebalanced my thinking. Thank you!
Thank you, Anil!
This was a beautiful piece.. it struck a note with me since I give into reading for umpteen hours under the impression that I am compounding my knowledge.. But every time I discuss with another analyst, it creates a more nuanced perspective on the stock I was researching on.. It's like you get additional pair of eyes that you can look at the same problem from.. Your piece was a wake up call to indeed pick my phone more often.. Thanks..
Thank you Manish! And I agree that conversations with others can unlock new insights, especially if one has been chewing on a question for a while.
Great thesis about Buffett doing more than just reading and your writing and book excerpts certainly proved he was doing more. Thanks for sharing your perspective on something well covered. I learned and you got me thinking! 🤔🌟
Thank you, Nick❤
This is an interesting piece. It is much easier to find quality, relevant reading material (increasing the relative returns to reading) and it is now much easier and cheaper to collaborate remotely - you can't as easily build trust without meeting in person but subsequent collaboration is much easier online. There is also definitely a trend where many in-person events were replaced by transcripts, which are much faster to consume and make it easier to go back and focus on a topic.
Buffett has also warned about too much collaboration leading to groupthink, and the value of living in Omaha where by default the majority of your time will be thinking and reading. At the very least he could curate who he spent time with.
I see this as being a very relevant topic outside investing, where every organization is trying to figure out the optimal organization post-Covid - locate everyone remotely, bring everyone in the office, or a hybrid?
I know there is some research where people have tried to figure out if the internet has lowered to value of being an academic researcher at a prestigious institution - part of the value was that it was easier to collaborate with other top researchers in the same office, but you can measure the % of highly cited papers written by collaborators at distant institutions and I think it's gone up. I just can't find it right now.
My main point, I should have made this more clearly, was this: don't try to out-read your competition. Relationships in combination with a healthy dose of reading will build a more lasting advantage (if there is such a thing). Transcripts of earnings calls or expert calls - even conducting expert calls - fall into the reading/information absorption bucket.
Being in Omaha (or the Bahamas like Templeton) is a trade-off. Less noise, less inbound. Requires more proactive effort. I see this as mostly being about personal fit/style. A topic to be explored another time.
That research sounds interesting. I agree that the value of travel has must have declined significantly thanks to the armada of new communication tools and ability to build more trust online.
That is definitely true! I believe Buffett has another line, that if studying history is all that matters, then the Forbes 400 would be made up entirely of historians. And also the line being a businessperson makes you a better investor and vice versa. Certainly there are increasing returns to combining the different inputs vs. just reading or just relationships or just hands on experience.
Yes, I love the line about librarians and am of course guilty myself of spending my time in a lopsided way ;-)
Wow.This has been helpful as it has saved me from many troubles.
Thanks, glad you found value in it.