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Compounding Knowledge

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Re: Compounding Knowledge

#41

Post by csomar »

This article is full of bul. Here is another article where WB suggests that you don't need such a big a brain: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/12/heres-the-iq-score-warren-bu...

There are many things going on here:

1. WB came at a time where little IQ could get you a lot ahead. People were not skilled. There was a time where some knowledge of writing, reading and basic math could make a factory director. Now the same knowledge might not get you at the door of that same factory.

2. WB came at a time where it was easy to acquire and build. These were times when land was cheap. Competition was easy. And lots of sectors were not developed yet. Not the same circumstances now. Or, it is. I mean if I tell you there is some cheap land somewhere: let's go and build and invest. In 20 years it'll be worth a lot. Would you go for the deal?

3. WB age is 88. I'd rather have a couple million USD in my thirties than having a billion by the time I'm 80.

4. WB probably made extreme lifestyle sacrifices to have more digits in his bank account and more troubles/reports to read everyday.

TL;DR: WB suggests that you should be wise and reasonable. That's good. People suggests that you should follow WB. That's bad (unless reading financial statements is your hobby).

Re: Compounding Knowledge

#42

Post by knightofmars »

ancorevard wrote: post #4
stakhanov wrote: post #2

I wonder to what extent Warren Buffet is Warren Buffet because of how he thinks and acts (like all of these non-fiction authors selling books by using his name would have us believe), and to what extent he is the product of media selection bias. -- If you take a large enough group of people who take risky stakes that are large enough (like the world of financial asset management), then one of them is bound to be as s…

There is such a thing as information, knowledge, wisdom and finally free will. Warren Buffet is Warren Buffet because of the way he consumed the information available to him, interpreted it and finally reacted to it. Certainly, Warren does not control the many factors in the environments he found himself in, factors that was favorable for him to get to where he is today and factors that were obstacles to him. But his…

>There is such a thing as information, knowledge, wisdom and finally free will.

The prevailing theories of today are that "free will" isn't so real.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sapient-nature/20120...

Re: Compounding Knowledge

#43

Post by JoeSmithson »

pasta wrote: post #34

I strongly believe that compunding knowledge is also helping to create good software. And I think software companies should give a team the opportunity to invest time to know more about the subject. For example when you write WMS software you should go to a warehouse and see what is going on, talk to the people who work there and understand why things are the way they are. Because there is a huge difference between k…

You're right but I think it actually needs so much more than that.

I've worked on both sides of enterprise software, firstly building and deploying Incredible Feats of Engineering in the face of Ludicrous Requests from the Idiot Clients, and then secondly as an actual front line worker, doing Work That Actually Matters in the face of ill-designed Utterly Broken Tools produced by Arrogant Engineers.

It's convinced me that "requirements gathering" in all it's forms just doesn't work, or at least is a currently unsolved problem.

If I ever set up a company it will be a kind of Gonzo software consultancy where my engineers take on long contracts, the first year at least of which is just working entry level in the client company, actually carrying their actual workload, actually reporting up their chain of command. The only way anything is ever solved properly is when someone who genuinely understands and needs to solve the problem, also has the skills to do it. The current system of promoting talent away from real problems splits these two things up.

Re: Compounding Knowledge

#44

Post by jonstewart »

hopler wrote: post #26
jonstewart wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Marketing himself as a folksy Nebraskan also does wonders for his dealflow, which is one of the secrets of his success. He gets first pass at a lot of privately-owned companies who agree to sell at a low price, because he’s Warren Buffett and won’t ruin their companies.

That's not just "marketing himself". That's a reputation earned over decades of buying companies and making the previous owners and managers into winners.

I don't think we disagree. Having run my own company, the biggest lesson learned is that marketing should never have "just" in front of it.

Re: Compounding Knowledge

#45

Post by Bucephalus355 »

“Hard to become an expert. Easy to be an expert.”

I spent many years learning how to do cloud architecture. Now I can briefly look at AWS documentation for new services out of the corner of my eye and know all I need to for the next 6 months.

Yet the other day I opened a book on Java, which I haven’t studied since college, and literally had no idea what in the world I was reading.

Re: Compounding Knowledge

#46

Post by WhompingWindows »

keiferski wrote: post #10

This concept is essentially the reason why “being able to quickly google the answers to questions” is inferior to “learning, knowing and remembering the answer.” The former treats a piece of information as an independent, context-free item, while the latter allows you to “digest” the information and understand the answer at a deeper level, to the point where it changes the types of questions you ask. Unfortunately ou…

Google is inherently a shallow net, it does not trawl the depths of information. It's made for finding what's easily seen on the surface, what's most interconnected/viewed by others/what Google wants to be on the surface.

If you learn to use Google scholar, for instance, you'll quickly find a skilled scholar searcher can find really great, really specific material. The question then is can you integrate and internalize that information, as Buffett does?

Re: Compounding Knowledge

#48

Post by chosenbreed37 »

SquishyPanda23 wrote: post #40
iambateman wrote: post #30

Buffet’s approach to life is interesting for the same reason an Olympic gymnast is interesting. He has specialized to an extreme and is taking advantage of the rewards of that specialization and natural talent in a unique way. It’s easy for me to feel shame that I don’t read 8 hours per day, as Warren and Charlie do. Buffett is a phenomenal investor but by all accounts, rather odd. He eats like crap, doesn’t exercise…

The way you describe it, he kind of sounds like a person with Aspergers with business as his special interest. Not saying that's what's going on. I don't know much about Buffet, but it sounds like some people with Aspergers I know that have other interests (mainly science). Personally, reading about the same thing 8 hours a day sounds like a dream job to me.

Warren Buffet is an outlier among outliers. Clearly there are things anyone can pick up from his approach. I think I'd struggle to keep everything in my memory :-) but I think there is a lot to say about the kind of knowledge that one should seek to acquire. On reading I read also on Farnham Street that Charlie Munger reads quite broadly I wonder if it is the same with Mr Buffet

Re: Compounding Knowledge

#49

Post by chosenbreed37 »

Bucephalus355 wrote: post #45

“Hard to become an expert. Easy to be an expert.” I spent many years learning how to do cloud architecture. Now I can briefly look at AWS documentation for new services out of the corner of my eye and know all I need to for the next 6 months. Yet the other day I opened a book on Java, which I haven’t studied since college, and literally had no idea what in the world I was reading.

I guess that the side effect of focus

Re: Compounding Knowledge

#50

Post by lelima »

kiba wrote: post #23
lelima wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People like him, are made by many, many random acts, and of course dedication, around 10.000 hours is need it for be an expert in any field, any. What if "grandfather who was a grocer" was a plumber instead? I Strongly recommend this book: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. He studies outliers, their family, culture, timing. One of many fun facts is that almost every pro-hockey player in Canada is born in the early's mont…

I wouldn't recommend any books by Malcolm Gladwell. He oversimplified things for the sake of telling stories. If you want to learn rigorously, better look toward academic sources.

Which academic sources would you recommend on this topic?

I've checked the sources from that book and they seem legit, including papers and articles[1]. Besides, the reviews of that book are very positive [2].

[1]: http://guides.skylinecollege.edu/c.php?g=279172&p=1861295 [2]: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Glad...

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