Links

"You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think." --Marcus Aurelius

Bill Gates' Professor Hawking Fellowship lecture: Why I think we can predict the future (LINK)

A Value Investor Defends Value Investing (Despite Its Recent Track Record) ($) (LINK)

Joel Greenblatt says if you do good valuation work, the market eventually will agree

Your Stock Trades Go Free but Your Cash Is in Chains - by Jason Zweig ($) (LINK)

The Price of Certainty - by Ian Cassel (LINK)

The China Cultural Clash - by Ben Thompson (LINK)

Leithner Letter No. 241-244 (LINK)

Capital Allocators Podcast: Jonathan Tepper (LINK)

Related book: The Myth of Capitalism

Masters in Business Podcast: Robert Shiller Discusses Narrative Economics (LINK)

Related book: Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Events

The Peter Attia Drive Podcast: Jason Fried: Optimizing efficiency and work-life balance (LINK)

Ryan Holiday on EconTalk discussing his new book, Stillness Is the Key (LINK)

What I Learned About Life From Buying a Goat on Craigslist - by Ryan Holiday (LINK)

"Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day." --Benjamin Franklin

Links

Knowing If You Can Stomach the Next Big Market Swing - by Jason Zweig ($) (LINK)

From Shareholder wealth to Stakeholder interests: CEO Capitulation or Empty Doublespeak? - by Aswath Damodaran (LINK)

The Time Netflix Considered Selling Itself to Amazon for Peanuts ($) (LINK)

Without state bond, PG&E needs money — and hedge funds await CA’s largest utility (LINK)

RA Conversations: Robert Shiller Explains Narrative Economics (video) (LINK)

Related book: Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Events

The Jolly Swagman Podcast: #71: Markets and The Madness of Crowds — Robert Shiller (LINK)

Five Good Questions Podcast: Mark Simpson - Excellent Investing (LINK)

Related book: Excellent Investing: How to Build a Winning Portfolio

Masters in Business Podcast: Kara Swisher Discusses the Tech Industry (LINK)

Planet Money Podcast: #938: The Marshall Plan (LINK)

Neil deGrasse Tyson chats with Joe Rogan (podcast) (LINK)

What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day? (LINK)

A History of South Asia, Told in Ancient DNA - by Sarah Zhang (LINK)

An Astronaut Reared the World’s Highest-Flying Birds - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Book of the day [H/T @ChrisBloomstran]: Mentor: Life and Legacy of Joe Rosenfield

Links

"I do think that there’s a lot to be said for developing a temperament that can own securities without fretting. I think that the fretful disposition is an enemy of long-term performance." --Charlie Munger (2003)

"I think it’s almost impossible...to do well in equities over a period of time if you go to bed every night thinking about the price of them. I mean, Charlie and I, we think about the value of them... Focusing on the price of a stock is dynamite, because it really means that you think that the stock market knows more than you do.... The stock market is there to serve you and not to instruct you." --Warren Buffett (2003)

Bill Gates: The Best Investment I’ve Ever Made (LINK)

In the Company of Greatness - by Frank K. Martin (LINK)

Billionaire Sam Zell Buys Gold for First Time in Bet on Tight Supply (LINK)

‘Bear Market’ Is an Arbitrary Label, but Using It Can Hurt - by Robert Shiller (LINK)

a16z Podcast: Pulse Check on Consumer Tech Trends 2019, CES and Beyond (LINK)

a16z Podcast: The Business of Cybercrime (LINK)

Five Good Questions: S4:E1 James Clear – Atomic Habits (LINK)

American Innovations Podcast: Bill Nye Wants to Save the World (LINK)

The Massive Mystery of Saturn’s Rings (LINK)

The Overlooked Organisms That Keep Challenging Our Assumptions About Life - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Links

"We don’t buy hula-hoop companies or pet rock companies, and we don’t buy companies in industries that we think will have great explosions in demand, but where we don’t know who the winners will be. So we...like to think we’re looking a long way into the future." --Warren Buffett (2003)

Joel Greenblatt – Great Value Investors Need To Be Cold Hearted JellyBean Counters (LINK)

Robert J. Shiller on Bubbles, Reflexivity, and Narrative Economics (LINK)

Robert Shiller: market narratives are 'like diseases' (FT Alphachat Podcast) (LINK)

Abby Johnson – Future of Finance (Invest Like the Best Podcast) (LINK)

David Rubenstein: The Importance of Having a Good 2nd and 3rd Life (The James Altucher Show) (LINK)

Apollo Asia Fund: the manager's report for 4Q18 (LINK)

A couple of good Herb Kelleher interviews from 2003 and from 2004.  [H/T @pcordway]

Bots, britches, and bees - by Bill Gates (LINK)

How Corning Makes Fiber-Optic Cable (LINK)

Related book: Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution―and Why America Might Miss It

WeWork Gets Less Money, Shorter Name (LINK)

How to Do Great Things (LINK)

Seven Big Ideas from Fooled by Randomness (LINK)

Taleb the Philosopher [H/T @chriswmayer] (LINK)

Animals Keep Creating Mysteries by Sounding Weird - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places (Episode 1) (LINK)

By the time we finished filming what would become his final complete series, he felt as if he was one step closer to his goal. To celebrate his birthday and lifetime of achievements, please enjoy the first episode of our Emmy® award-winning series, Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places, at no charge and with no login required.

Links

"As long as I am back in my military life for a second, I should like to observe one thing about leadership that one of the great has said -- Napoleon. He said, the great leader, the genius in leadership, is the man who can do the average thing when everybody else is going crazy." -Dwight D. Eisenhower

Chris Davis and Danton Goei on WealthTrack (LINK)

A rare interview with two top global investors: Davis Funds’ Chris Davis and Danton Goei explain where they are finding world-class growth at value prices.

The Coming Bear Market? - by Robert Shiller (LINK)

The US stock market today looks a lot like it did at the peak before all 13 previous price collapses. That doesn't mean that a bear market is imminent, but it does amount to a stark warning against complacency.

Exponent Podcast: Episode 125 — The Super-Aggregators (LINK)

Ben and James discuss the different levels of aggregation, Facebook and Russian ads, and why it’s worth defending the future.

Adventures in Finance Podcast -- Jim Rogers: The Investment Biker Rides Again (LINK)

Investing legend Jim Rogers joins Grant Williams to talk about the defining moments in his life which took him to Wall Street in the 1960s and to Russia and China on a motorbike in the 1980s. Jim talks about how important non-consensus thinking has been throughout his career, explains how the current troubles in North Korea could provide the investment opportunity of a lifetime … and let’s Hugh Hendry know exactly what’s in his pocket.

FT Alphachat Podcast: The science behind our addictions to social media and tech (LINK)

Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist and author known for his work on the addictive properties of sugar and its effect on the brain, joins Alphaville's Izabella Kaminska to discuss his latest book, which applies his work on addiction to the technological realm. The book is called The Hacking of the American Mind.

O Behave Podcast: The Persuasive Power of Play (with Andrew Sheerin) (LINK)

Listen to Andrew Sheerin of Terrorbull Games talk with O Behave's Julia Stainforth about the theory of play and the psychological power of games.

Sinica Podcast: North Korea behind the scenes, with Evan Osnos (LINK)

Former China correspondent for the New Yorker, and now the magazine’s man in D.C., Evan Osnos talks us through his recent front page article on how badly North Korea and the U.S. understand one another.

Links

The Market Really Is Different This Time - by Jason Zweig (LINK)

The market has hit Dow 22000 not because of the individual investors Wall Street calls “the dumb money” but in spite of them. 

Over the past month, small investors have pulled $17 billion out of U.S. stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds and added $29 billion to bond funds. That’s the latest leg of a long-term trend: Since the internet-stock bubble burst in 2000, investors have withdrawn half a trillion dollars from U.S. stock mutual funds.

Jeff Brotman Hit the Big Time With Costco (LINK)

“He was one of the smartest businessmen that has ever operated in America,” said Charles Munger, a Costco board member and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Rick Bookstaber is going to start blogging again (LINK)

More Bookstaber: The Four Horsemen of the Econopocalypse (LINK)

Related book: The End of Theory

Counting Boxes - by Eric Cinnamond (LINK)

A Dozen Lessons about Angel Investing from Jason Calacanis (Poker Edition) - by Tren Griffin (LINK)

Finding “Unicorns:” Questions to Ask Before You Invest in a Startup (LINK)

The Transformation of the ‘American Dream’ - by Robert Shiller (LINK)

Masters in Business podcast: Richard Clarida of Pimco on the New Neutral of Monetary Policy (LINK)

a16z Video: What is the S-curve? (LINK)

Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? [H/T @morganhousel] (LINK)

Links

"...it’s precisely when people can’t see what it is that could make things turn down that risk is highest, since they tend not to price in risks they can’t see." -Howard Marks 

Robert Shiller on CNBC (video) (LINK)

Wall Street Needs You to Borrow Against Your Stock ($) (LINK)

Goldman launches new online lending strategy for mass affluent (LINK)

Third Point's Q2 2017 letter (LINK)

Superinvestors and the Art of Worldly Wisdom podcast: William White on the Undesired Side Effects of Experimental Monetary Policy (LINK)

How I Built This podcat -- BuzzFeed: Jonah Peretti (LINK)

TED Talk -- The manipulative tricks tech companies use to capture your attention | Tristan Harris (LINK)

Freakonomics Radio (podcast): The Stupidest Thing You Can Do With Your Money (LINK)

Tell Me Something I Don't Know podcast -- Behavior Change: Ultra Egghead Edition (LINK)

The Tim Ferriss Show: How to Turn Failure into Success (LINK)

Revisionist History podcast: “State v. Johnson” (part one of a two-part story) (LINK)

Tardigrade genomes help explain how they survive without water (LINK)

Claude Shannon, the Las Vegas Shark (LINK)

Related book: A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age 

Links

How I Built This podcast -- AOL: Steve Case (LINK)

Related book: The Third Wave

Great ideas are born out of frustration not greed - by Ian Cassel (LINK)

Caution Signals Are Blinking for the Trump Bull Market - by Robert Shiller (LINK)

For Chinese Companies, If You Can’t Move Money Overseas, Raise It Overseas [H/T Matt] (LINK)

Chinese companies struggling to get their money out of the country have come up with an alternative: raise money overseas. 

Chinese firms have issued some $52.6 billion worth of U.S. dollar bonds in the first quarter, up 72% from the previous three months, according to Dealogic, and nearly five times the amount from the first quarter of 2016. 

The surge has come as Beijing has tightened curbs on capital outflows, making it harder for Chinese companies to use their yuan earned domestically overseas. Those companies looking to make acquisitions abroad, or even just pay back existing dollar debt, are increasingly turning to the U.S. dollar markets to raise funds.

Airlines Make More Money Selling Miles Than Seats [H/T Matt] (LINK)

What Tyler Cowen thinks of pretty much everything (LINK)

Related book: The Complacent Class

Phil Knight's 2014 Commencement Speech at Stanford (video) [H/T ValueWalk] (LINK)

Related book: Shoe Dog

Life Lessons From 100-Year-Olds (video) [H/T @morganhousel] (LINK)

Links

Thanks to everyone that has commented on the new blog logo. My wife had some free time over the weekend and decided to give it a refresh, as creating logos and marketing material is her specialty. I'm also working on a few other updates, but those will come slowly. 

Focusing is an Art, Not a Science (LINK)

Investing is an Art, Not a Science (LINK)

Why Robert Shiller Is Worried About the Trump Rally (LINK)

What Shiller will say now is that he’s refrained from adding to his own U.S. stock positions, emphasizing overseas markets instead. One factor that makes him cautious on American shares is the S&P 500’s cyclically-adjusted price-earnings ratio: While the metric is still about 30 percent below its high in 2000, it shows stocks are almost as expensive now as they were on the eve of the 1929 crash. 

“The market is way over-priced,’’ he says. “It’s not as intellectual as people would think, or as economists would have you believe.’’

Ackman Sells Valeant Stake After at Least $2.8 Billion Loss (LINK)

Intel, Mobileye, and Smiling Curves - by Ben Thompson (LINK)

Yuval Harari Works Less Than You - by Cal Newport (LINK)

Related books: 1) Sapiens; 2) Homo Deus

Gary Taubes on the Financial Sense Newshour Podcast (LINK)

Related book: The Case Against Sugar

Neanderthal Dental Plaque Shows What a Paleo Diet Really Looks Like - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Links

Warren Buffett's 2016 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders with be posted tomorrow at 8 a.m. EST on the Berkshire website.

Peter Kaufman on The Single Most Important Thing in an Operating Business (LINK)

Surgeons Should Not Look Like Surgeons - by Nassim Taleb (LINK)

The Network Effect of Ideas & Innovation (LINK)

Robert Shiller: With stock valuations high, it’s time to reduce your holdings (video) (LINK)

Update on lack of Chinese Residential Real Estate Buyers (LINK)

a16z Podcast: Brains, Bodies, Minds … and Techno-Religions (LINK)

Related book: Homo Deus

Exponent podcast: Episode 105 — The Most Political (LINK)

Ben Thompson on The Bill Simmons Podcast (audio) [H/T Abnormal Returns] (LINK)

The Rise of the Monk Mode Morning (LINK)

Related book: Deep Work

Extinct Neanderthals still control expression of human genes (LINK)

Sam Zell has a book coming out in May [H/T @chriswmayer]: Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

Book of the day #1 [H/T Claire Barnes]: The Tropical Oil Crop Revolution: Food, Feed, Fuel, and Forests

Book of the day #2 [H/T @paulg]: The Kings Depart

Links

“Charlie and I continue to believe that short-term market forecasts are poison and should be kept locked up in a safe place, away from children and also from grown-ups who behave in the market like children.” -Warren Buffett, 1992 Letter to Shareholders

Warren Buffett says the US will do fine under Trump because we've got the 'secret sauce' (short video and article) (LINK)

AIG to Pay Berkshire $9.8 Billion in Insurance Transfer Deal (LINK)

Student Debt Payback Far Worse Than Believed (LINK)

The Most Coveted Ball in Golf Is From Costco (LINK)

The Art of Holding - by Ian Cassel (LINK)

January 2017 Data Update 3: Cracking the Currency Code - by Aswath Damodaran (LINK)

Five Good Questions for Marko Dimitrijevic about his book Frontier Investor (video) (LINK)

Exponent Podcast: Episode 101 — TV is the Oak Tree  (LINK)

The Illusions Driving Up US Asset Prices - by Robert Shiller (LINK)

Some videos from the World Economic Forum in Davos (more HERE):

A Conversation With George Soros at Davos 2017

Ray Dalio: Populism Threatens Multinational Corporations

The Crisis of the Middle Class: Davos Panel (Ray Dalio, et al.)

Davos 2017 - Strategic Update: The Future of Innovation

Davos 2017 - An Insight, An Idea with Sergey Brin

Davos 2017 - An Insight, An Idea with Jack Ma

Davos 2017 - An Insight, An Idea with Ginni Rometty

Davos 2017 - Artificial Intelligence

Davos 2017 - Strategic Update: The Future of Finance

Davos 2017 - The Global Fintech Revolution

Davos 2017 - Strategic Update: The Future of Energy [I don't have any idea if this is true, and it is dangerous to make an investment on any kind of macro forecast, but it was an interesting enough comment that I thought was worth mentioning, though it's also worth remembering that demand is only one side of the supply/demand equation: "Last year...less than one car [sold in a] hundred was an electric car...If we were to assume that, as of tomorrow, every second car sold was an electric car...for twenty-five years, global oil demand will still continue to grow.']

An Evening with Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris (audio) (Part 1, Part 2)

Most Primate Species Threatened With Extinction, Scientists Find (LINK)

Decoding the Origami That Drives All Life - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Books of the day:

The Transformed Cell (1992) [H/T Peter Attia]

Humans Are Underrated: What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will - by Geoff Colvin

I'm not sure I had previously read Martin Luther King Jr.'s entire "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." But given the recent holiday in his honor, I decided to give it a listen on Audible, and I think it'll now be something I listen to every year. Here's one particular quote that I saved: 

"My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals."

Links

"He who sees the past as surprise-free is bound to have a future full of surprises." -Amos Tversky (via The Undoing Project)

Video trailer for the HBO Documentary "Becoming Warren Buffett" [H/T Linc] (LINK)

Farnam Street: George Marshall’s 1920 Letter on True Leadership (LINK)

Related book: George C. Marshall: Interviews and Reminiscences (or online transcripts HERE)

Valuation and investment analysis - by John Hempton (LINK)

When do you average down? - by John Hempton (LINK)

Alexa: Amazon's Operating System - by Ben Thompson (LINK)

An interview with Robert Shiller [H/T ValueWalk] (LINK)

Exxon Mobil Cashes Out Ex-CEO Tillerson Ahead of Confirmation Hearings (LINK)

The Fake and Distorted News Epidemic and Bridgewater's Recent Experience With The Wall Street Journal - by Ray Dalio (LINK)

Billionaire Hedge-Fund Manager Ties W.S.J. to “Fake” News Epidemic (LINK)

TED Talk - Adam Grant: Are you a giver or a taker? (LINK)

Related book: Give and Take

16 Things You Didn’t Know About Avocados [H/T The Browser] (LINK)

Steven Pinker on The Second Law Of Thermodynamics [H/T The Browser] (LINK) [You can see all responses to the Edge annual question HERE.]

Links

Buffett’s Investing Deputy Todd Combs Named to JPMorgan’s Board (LINK)

How to invest like… Warren Buffett's hero Philip Carret [H/T @chriswmayer] (LINK)

Related book: A Money Mind at 90 

Related article: Buy ‘em Cheap and Hold ‘em

What Are You Doing About It? Reaching Deep Fluency with Mental Models (LINK)

The Difference Between Rationality and Intelligence [H/T @mjmauboussin] (LINK)

The Dangers of ‘Self-Driving’ Car Hype (LINK)

The Coming Anti-National Revolution World - by Robert Shiller (LINK)

It’s time to junk the flawed economic models that make the world a dangerous place [H/T @jasonzweigwsj] (LINK)

Invest Like the Best podcast: Michael Mauboussin – Active Asset Management (LINK)

This looks like an interesting new podcast from NPR [H/T @Kevin_Holloway]: How I Built This

How I Built This is a podcast about innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built. Each episode is a narrative journey marked by triumphs, failures, serendipity and insight — told by the founders of some of the world's best known companies and brands. 

There's a new edition (50% longer) of Nassim Taleb's The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms

Book of the day (released next month):  The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Links

Mental Model: Commitment and Consistency Bias (LINK)

Today’s Inequality Could Easily Become Tomorrow’s Catastrophe - by Robert J. Shiller (LINK)

How Bankrupt Is Horsehead Holding? Its Investors Want to Know (LINK)

The Sinister Side of Cash - by Kenneth S. Rogoff [H/T @jasonzweigwsj] (LINK)

Paper money fuels corruption, terrorism, tax evasion and illegal immigration—so the U.S. should get rid of the $100 bill and other large notes

a16z Podcast: Ethereum, App Coins, and Beyond (LINK)

I'm looking forward to this book coming out in January: A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market - by Edward O. Thorp

Book of the day [H/T 25iq, which linked to THIS excerpt]: The Vanishing American Corporation: Navigating the Hazards of a New Economy

Links

Warren Buffett Deputy Ted Weschler Makes His Mark (LINK)

Horizon Kinetics Q2 Conference Call (video/audio) (LINK) [The Q2 Commentary is also HERE.]

The Strategy Tax - by Ben Carlson (LINK)

Grant's Interest Rate Observer from 1987: Sell Donald Trump (LINK)

“Boy, you got me good,” Donald Trump told the editor of Grant’s. 

As The Wall Street Journal reports today, The Donald reacted with uncommon charity to a prescient Grant’s article in 1987 headed “Sell Donald Trump.”

The Global Economy’s Hesitation Blues - by Robert Shiller (LINK)

A Guide to Marketplaces (LINK)

Related previous links: 1) Marketplaces (and Network Effects); and 2) a16z Podcast: Getting Network Effects

Exponent podcast: Episode 086 — Falling a Pokémon Off a Cliff (LINK)

The turquoise killfish only lives for 3 months, but could help unlock the secrets of ageing (LINK)

Links

The world’s greatest investors: John Maynard Keynes [H/T CIO] (LINK)

Related previous post: John Maynard Keynes' change in investment philosophy

A Conversation With Robert J. Shiller (video) [H/T CIO] (LINK)

Related books: Irrational Exuberance 3rd edition; Phishing for Phools

Andre Kostolany, bon vivant and speculator (LINK)

Seth Godin: On saying "no" (LINK)

Links

Oaktree Insights: Investing in Real Estate [H/T ValueWalk] (LINK)

In this Oaktree Insights paper, John Brady (Real Estate Portfolio Manager) explores the introductory concepts of real estate investing and provides an overview of Oaktree's investment strategy and our perspective on the asset class.

Ray Dalio on CNBC (Video 1, Video 2, Video 3)

Lagarde, Fang, Dalio Discuss China Outlook at Davos (video) (LINK)

Bloomberg Debate on Future of Finance at WEF in Davos (video) (LINK)

Yale's Shiller: Markets Over-focused on China, Oil (video) (LINK)

Raghuram Rajan: China, Oil Trigger for Market Volatility (video) (LINK)

The FANG Playbook (LINK)

Latticework of Mental Models: Matthew Effect (LINK)

Stephen Hawking: Humans at risk of lethal 'own goal' [H/T Will] (LINK)

More (and Best Yet) Evidence That Another Planet Lurks in the Dark Depths of Our Solar System (LINK)

Links

If you haven't bought one yet and are interested, Max Olson has set up a print-on-demand link for the hardcover version of the Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders (LINK)

What does Charlie Munger mean when he says that something is a lollapalooza? (LINK)

Related book: Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor

Peter Lynch, 25 Years Later: It’s Not Just ‘Invest in What You Know’ [H/T Will] (LINK)

Related books: One Up On Wall Street; Beating the Street

Valeant, Short Selling, and the Too-Hard Pile (LINK)

Sohn London Conference Notes 2015 (LINK)

Roger Lowenstein talks to Barry Ritholtz on the Masters in Business podcast (LINK)

Related book: America's Bank: The Epic Struggle to Create the Federal Reserve

Robert Shiller: Don’t Assume a Fed Action Will Move the Market (LINK)

Planet Money Podcast: How Four Drinking Buddies Saved Brazil (LINK)

Exponent podcast discussing when disruption theory is useful — and when it isn’t (LINK)

Short-lived fish may hold clues to human ageing (LINK)

********************

As a reminder around holiday shopping season, you can support this blog by shopping on Amazon through THIS LINK.

Links

Getting caught up on a few links after a little time away...

Notes from the Berkshire Hathaway 50th Anniversary Symposium (Market Folly, ValueWalk)

Prominent film company focuses documentary lens on Buffett [H/T Linc] (LINK)

How does Charlie Munger recommend dealing with adversity? (LINK)

Shane Parrish talks to Chris Dixon on The Knowledge Project (LINK) [Shane is also starting a membership program that is worth considering, HERE.]

John Malone interview on CNBC (video) [H/T Santangel's Review] (LINK) 

"I'm an investor. When I see opportunity to create value for my shareholders, I tend to want to dabble in that. So that effort to position capital, to anticipate value creation, I think is my job."

How to Become a Better Reader (LINK)

Related book: How to Read a Book

Latticework of Mental Models: Reciprocation Tendency (LINK)

Related book: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Robert Shiller at the LSE discussing Phishing for Phools (LINK)

Robert Shiller's Talk at Google for Phishing for Phools (video) (LINK)

Beyond Banking: under attack on all sides (LINK)

Huge Valeant Stake Exposes Rift at Sequoia Fund [H/T Linc] (LINK)

ACHAL BAKERI, LEARNING MACHINE - by Sanjay Bakshi (LINK)

Managing a creative culture (LINK)

Related book: Creativity, Inc.

The Bill Simmons Podcast - Episode 19: Malcolm Gladwell (LINK)

HBO's Bill Simmons talks to best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell about Grantland's abrupt demise, public funded sports arenas/stadiums, new owner syndrome, Tom Brady's never-ending career, the corrupt NCAA, Obama's next job and how America needs a sports czar more than ever.

The Saudi Wahhabis are the real foe: We must take our fight to the preachers and financiers of terror - By Nassim Nicholas Taleb (LINK)

Some highlights from the book Seneca: A Life (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

Some interesting books I've seen recommended by others: 

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

Rationality for Mortals: How People Cope with Uncertainty

Homicide

I Think You'll Find it's a Bit More Complicated Than That

Links

TED - Jim Simons: A rare interview with the mathematician who cracked Wall Street (video) (LINK)

THE MUSEUM OF ART AND FINANCE, GALLERY 1: TULIPMANIA (LINK)

Robert Shiller on CNBC (video) (LINK)

Scott Adams: The Tells (for cognitive dissonance) (LINK) [This also reminded me of the book I finally started recently, which might be the science compliment to Adams' entertaining post: Strangers to Ourselves]

Why Elephants Don’t Explode: How Nature Solves Bigness [H/T @TimHarford] (LINK)

Related books:  

Why Size Matters: From Bacteria to Blue Whales  

The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature

Henry David Thoreau on Reading (LINK)