Tags
activist investors, autodidactism, books, Bruce Kovner, consensus, contrarianism, fear and greed, Howard Marks, investing, Isaiah Berlin, latticework of mental models, literature, Magic Eye, mosaic theory, Nosce Te Ipsum, reading, Warren Buffett
OK, back in June & July, I covered two key benefits of reading:
Knowledge, Experience & Inspiration – a constant & wide-ranging diet of non-fiction reading’s essential for any investor, and something you’ll find all the great investors practice & recommend.
Nosce Te Ipsum – I believe reading literature’s equally important, it’s one of the few ways you can truly know thyself (& other people). And painful self-awareness & examination offer the best hope of avoiding the potentially devastating impact of fear & greed on your portfolio.
It’s been a long time coming – let’s tackle the final benefit of reading, which I call: Magic Eye. It’s definitely the most exciting – I guess I’d classify it as offensive, versus the rather defensive nature of the other benefits. But some context would be useful – let’s first talk a little about how I actually read:
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always found it incredible how the entire world (even multiple worlds) can be encapsulated in a single book. And there’s almost never-ending mountains of them, just waiting to be discovered! In fact, they really are never-ending: In the UK, for example, 150,000 new titles are published each year! Faced with those kinds of numbers, I’ve always felt an overwhelming sense of urgency – how can I ever bloody read quickly & widely enough to ever make a dent in such a mountain?!
Wexboy 