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Charlie Munger – Feeling Like a Victim Is Perfectly Disastrous

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Re: Charlie Munger – Feeling Like a Victim Is Perfectly Disastrous

#81

Post by crawfordcomeaux »

oh_sigh wrote: post #43
profsummergig wrote: post #23

Charlie Munger had great advice in general. And I've learned a lot of good from him. But I will never get over the hypocrisy of owning a quarter of Coca Cola and constantly criticizing Americans for being overweight (he used words like "sloth").

Why? For the most part, people are overweight by choice, not by some unavoidable draw of Coke. Not to mention that they have a ton of zero or low calorie coke options that people could choose.

This is kind of missing the point. People are in groups that do all kinds of things normatively that add up to obesity, like dualistic thinking leading to depression while be embedded in a culture of dissociation. Yes, it's a choice, and as the cultures that gatekeep people from meeting their needs grows and spreads, making and sustaining that choice becomes harder. Maintaining cultures that harm is also a choice. No one is an island. We're all programming each other and ourselves in every moment while not taking care about how we do it.

Re: Charlie Munger – Feeling Like a Victim Is Perfectly Disastrous

#82

Post by [deleted] »

oh_sigh wrote: post #43
profsummergig wrote: post #23

Charlie Munger had great advice in general. And I've learned a lot of good from him. But I will never get over the hypocrisy of owning a quarter of Coca Cola and constantly criticizing Americans for being overweight (he used words like "sloth").

Why? For the most part, people are overweight by choice, not by some unavoidable draw of Coke. Not to mention that they have a ton of zero or low calorie coke options that people could choose.

[deleted]

Re: Charlie Munger – Feeling Like a Victim Is Perfectly Disastrous

#83

Post by ihumanable »

Somewhat the height of survivorship bias. There are a many number of people that don't adopt a victim mentality, work hard, and try to get ahead and just don't. For every Charlie Munger there are tons of working poor that get up everyday, work hard for minimum wage, then go off to their second job.

My entire childhood I watched both my parents, who both had 2 jobs, work themselves non-stop to try to provide for us. They didn't drink or do drugs or consider themselves victims, and it didn't help one bit.

Asking the man who wins the lottery how to live a good life and be successful often ends up with them telling you to do whatever it is that they did. It might even be good advice, but it's a ridiculous appeal to authority. Charlie Munger got all this success and he did X, ok, did other people do X and not achieve this level of success? How many people did not-X and were perfectly successful?

It's subjective finger wagging dressed up in more appealing clothing for those that already agree with the opinions to point at and be happy about. Because at the end of the day, it allows us to blame people's misfortune on them, they've adopted a victim mentality and that's why their lives aren't working out. It allows the class that has the vast majority of wealth to deflect any critical examination of the power structure that perpetuates this state. You aren't underpaid, you just have adopted a victim mindset. You aren't exploited, you just haven't found a way to turn the challenge of paying your rent into riches yet.

Re: Charlie Munger – Feeling Like a Victim Is Perfectly Disastrous

#84

Post by ajhurliman »

tech_ken wrote: post #61

> He thought that every mischance in life was an opportunity to behave well, every mischance in life was an opportunity to learn something, and your duty was not to be submerged in self-pity but to utilize the terrible blow in a constructive fashion. Feeling like a victim is not the same as wallowing in self-pity. Recognizing that you have been victimized in some way could easily be the first step towards taking owne…

This is a welcomed addition of nuance, but I think it thematically fits with the general narrative. If your current situation is not optimal, and we pose a dichotomy of choosing to take control of your situation or self pity, then taking control is better.

I guess it’s some combination of feeling like a victim with a fatalist attitude that’s the real issue.

Re: Charlie Munger – Feeling Like a Victim Is Perfectly Disastrous

#85

Post by nradov »

bmitc wrote: post #13
bloodyplonker22 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's easy to make a pithy observation that he's a billionaire and then proceed to spew hate while thinking everything is a zero sum game. When Charlie was in his 30s, he was broke, his 9 year old son died, and he had a divorce. He was never a victim that blames others for their misfortunes though.

So it's his fault that all that happened to him? I am sorry that someone has died, and I regret making a comment on this particular post before realizing the actual post topic too late, but I am not too keen on living my life based upon how billionaires think. Munger, like many billionaires and as the above quote and his dorm designs showcase, liked to speak about things he didn't know anything about, and people like…

Could you point us towards some evidence-based clinical practice guidelines that would support your point? Have there been any large scale studies which show that following Charlie Munger's approach produces worse outcomes than the alternatives?

Re: Charlie Munger – Feeling Like a Victim Is Perfectly Disastrous

#86

Post by ericmcer »

jjoonathan wrote: post #34

This is true. It is also true that dispensing this particular advice is self-serving for people in power. In a revolution, things get worse before they get better if they get better. Revolutions come at huge negative expected value. However, appeasing powerful forces can also have hugely negative expected value. Sometimes the calculus makes sense, and when it does, you should hope that people are appropriately discou…

So you shouldn’t work hard because it benefits the people in power?

That mentality seems pretty self-destructive. It’s dumb to not at least try to impress the people who pay you. That doesn’t mean you can’t also take it easy and strike a healthy balance, but just outright saying society and work are bullshit seems insane when we have such a wealth of resources readily available to us.

Re: Charlie Munger – Feeling Like a Victim Is Perfectly Disastrous

#87

Post by watwut »

dustincoates wrote: post #46
wackycat wrote: post #33

Isn't he the guy that tried to build windowless dorms? Anyone who thinks humans should live without natural light is not anyone I am interested in taking advice from. Ref: https://www.archpaper.com/2023/08/university-california-aban...

> While the dorm rooms themselves don’t have windows, the exterior of the building does, which lets natural light into the communal living spaces. The reasoning was too encourage people to hang out in common areas to create more of a community feeling. Whether you think that's necessary or a good idea (I went to college long ago, but there wasn't any need to have architecture diving our community), it's not the same…

That sounds more like abusive logic then wish to help anyone. "I do it for your own good".

Re: Charlie Munger – Feeling Like a Victim Is Perfectly Disastrous

#88

Post by spiderice »

alayne wrote: post #21
arcticbull wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also, there are plenty of reports of just how bad his designs are. There's also plenty of great reviews of it. [1] 8.3/10 seems hardly catastrophic, especially if it gives people an affordable place to live. I feel like the vast majority of the criticisms come from people who definitely didn't live in them. [1] https://www.veryapt.com/ApartmentReview-a7222-munger-graduat...

the bad ones are in Santa Barbara

The "bad ones" in Santa Barbara never got built, no? So people definitely didn't live in them.

Re: Charlie Munger – Feeling Like a Victim Is Perfectly Disastrous

#89

Post by nullindividual »

nwoli wrote: post #52
profsummergig wrote: post #23

Charlie Munger had great advice in general. And I've learned a lot of good from him. But I will never get over the hypocrisy of owning a quarter of Coca Cola and constantly criticizing Americans for being overweight (he used words like "sloth").

Enjoying the occasional Coca Cola but not overindulging is perfectly consistent correct behaviour within those constraints

He didn't make money on you buying the "occasional" Coke. He made money by addicting you (the royal you) to Coke to want it over, and over, and over again.

I used to be that way. I'm glad I gave it up.

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