chowyonghan Author

We can’t move away from suboptimal QWERTY

(Extracted from Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb) The arrangement of the letters on a typewriter is an example of the success of the least deserving method. For our typewriters have the order of the letters on...

September 15, 2019| Path Dependence, Structure drives behaviour Read More

Curious incident of the dog in the night-time

(Extracted from The Adventure of Silver Blaze on Wikipedia) Gregory: “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?” Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”...

September 15, 2019| Inversion Read More

Luck alone can create successful fund managers

(Extracted from Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb) We create a cohort that is composed exclusively of incompetent managers. We will define an incompetent manager as someone who has a negative expected return,...

September 15, 2019| Investing, Randomness Read More

Survivors are more obvious than failures

(Excerpt from Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb) There are other aspects to the monkeys problem; in real life the other monkeys are not countable, let alone visible. They are hidden away, as one sees only the...

September 14, 2019| Survivorship Bias Read More

Luck factor increases with sample size

(Excerpt from Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb) The initial sample size matters greatly. If there are five monkeys in the game, I would be rather impressed with the Iliad writer, to the point of suspecting him to...

September 14, 2019| Investing, Randomness, Survivorship Bias Read More

A company must survive a change at the top

(Extracted from Bloomberg on Bloomberg) “If a company can’t survive a change at the top, the top person hasn’t done her or his job. Talent development is one of a CEO’s most important responsibilities.“...

September 14, 2019| People Read More

Hard times become manageable if you do what you love

(Extracted from You Better Love This by Morgan Housel) If you view “do what you love” as a guide to a happier life, it sounds like empty fortune cookie advice. If you view it as the thing providing the endurance...

September 10, 2019| Life Read More

For sure things get you into trouble

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Anonymous...

September 9, 2019| Overconfidence Bias Read More

Practise and master one kick

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” Bruce Lee...

September 9, 2019| Focus Read More

Nassim Taleb invests mainly in treasuries, owns no stocks

(Extracted from Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb) There is another reason why Nero is not as rich as others in his situation. His skepticism does not allow him to invest any of his own funds outside of treasury...

September 8, 2019| Investing Read More

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