Charlie Munger Donates $65M for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara
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Re: Charlie Munger Donates $65M for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara
#2A bit off topic, but Poor Charlie's Almanac by Munger is a great book.
Re: Charlie Munger Donates $65M for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara
#3A bit off topic, but Poor Charlie's Almanac by Munger is a great book.
I've heard a lot of good things about it. What did you like about it?
Re: Charlie Munger Donates $65M for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara
#4I never realized that UCSB had become a haven for physicists. I once conjectured that I thought UCSB and UCSD would soon become hotbeds for scientific research, in part because of their great physical weather and beauty. And I think it is playing out for both institutions.
Re: Charlie Munger Donates $65M for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara
#5More information about the institute and residence:
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/a-billionaires-65-mil...
Re: Charlie Munger Donates $65M for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara
#6A bit off topic, but Poor Charlie's Almanac by Munger is a great book.
Also recommend Seeking Wisdom From Darwin to Munger:
Re: Charlie Munger Donates $65M for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara
#7Re: Charlie Munger Donates $65M for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara
#8I never realized that UCSB had become a haven for physicists. I once conjectured that I thought UCSB and UCSD would soon become hotbeds for scientific research, in part because of their great physical weather and beauty. And I think it is playing out for both institutions.
An interesting conjecture.
As an academic, it's interesting to observe the relationship between geography and attractiveness to new faculty.
As I heard from a UCSD professor, it is extremely rough to live in San Diego/La Jolla on a grad student salary, and prospective grad students are aware of this and (largely) avoid the place. So, the grad program is weaker than one might think, which the faculty find a little bit demoralizing.
So, in this instance, the attractiveness of the area seems to go against the university.
Re: Charlie Munger Donates $65M for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara
#9A bit off topic, but Poor Charlie's Almanac by Munger is a great book.
I've heard a lot of good things about it. What did you like about it?
I have it and it's great. At first you think it's just some arrogant old man who is full of himself rambling on, then you realize you're dealing with a genius, and you can't put it down. The thing that resonated with me is his multiple mental models approach to life. He basically feels that one just needs a basic college education and the ability to apply the most important concepts from each course in a combinatorial way, and that if you specialize too much, you're likely to make an error (to the man with a hammer, everything is a nail). Lots of other stuff on human error.
The Almanac also pointed me to "Influence" by Robert Cialdini, which is one of Munger's most highly recommended books.
That is the quickest summary I can give from my ipad
Re: Charlie Munger Donates $65M for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara
#10I never realized that UCSB had become a haven for physicists. I once conjectured that I thought UCSB and UCSD would soon become hotbeds for scientific research, in part because of their great physical weather and beauty. And I think it is playing out for both institutions.
An interesting conjecture. As an academic, it's interesting to observe the relationship between geography and attractiveness to new faculty. As I heard from a UCSD professor, it is extremely rough to live in San Diego/La Jolla on a grad student salary, and prospective grad students are aware of this and (largely) avoid the place. So, the grad program is weaker than one might think, which the faculty find a little bit…
As of 2010, the UCSD Bioengineering graduate department was #1.
The strength of UCSD in bioengineering, plus their other strengths (chemistry, theoretical chemistry, biology, physics, math...), is part of what explains San Diego's strength in life sciences industry.