Links

"As I've gotten older...I could not help but notice the effect on people of the stories they told about themselves. If you listen to people—if you just sit and listen—you'll find that there are patterns in the way they talk about themselves. There's the kind of person who's always the victim in any story that they tell—always on the receiving end of some injustice. There's the person who's always kind of the hero in every story they tell. The smart person—they deliver the clever put-down. There are lots of versions of this. And you gotta be very careful about how you tell these stories because it starts to become you. You are, in the way you craft your narrative, kind of crafting your character. And so, I did at some point decide: I am going to adopt self-consciously as my narrative that I'm the happiest person anybody knows. And it is amazing how happy-inducing it is." --Michael Lewis [Source]

The Tim Ferriss Show (podcast): #427: Michael Lewis on the Crafts of Writing, Friendship, Coaching, Happiness, and More (LINK)

Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting Transcript 2020 (LINK)

The Investor’s Podcast: TIP295: Mohnish Pabrai on Value Investing & Philanthropy (LINK)

Masters in Business Podcast: Jim Chanos on Financial Fraud (LINK)

Finding Your Balance in a Topsy-Turvy Market - by Jason Zweig ($) (LINK)

Beyond coronavirus: The road ahead for the automotive aftermarke [H/T @chrispavese] (LINK)

How Greenwich Republicans Learned to Love Trump - by Evan Osnos (LINK)

The iconic brands that could disappear because of coronavirus (LINK)

Price Gouging Could Actually Fix Our Face Mask Shortage - by Russ Roberts (LINK)

Old Drugs May Find a New Purpose: Fighting the Coronavirus (LINK)

Why Weren’t We Ready for the Coronavirus? - by David Quammen (LINK)

Making Sense with Sam Harris (podcast): #201 [with Yuval Noah Harari] (LINK)

Hope, Through History Podcast: Episode 1 | FDR and The Great Depression (LINK)

Hope, Through History Podcast: Episode 2 | Winston Churchill and World War II (LINK)

The Man Who Thought Too Fast (LINK)

Book of the day (recommended by Michael Lewis): The Long Ships

Links

"That's how history unfolds. People weave a web of meaning, believe in it with all their heart, but sooner or later the web unravels, and when we look back we cannot understand how anybody could have taken it seriously." --Yuval Noah Harari (Homo Deus)

Howard Marks says the stock market rebound is not reflecting reality (LINK)

Oil Plunges Below Zero for First Time in Unprecedented Wipeout (LINK)

Less Than Zero: What Oil's Crazy Day Means ($) (LINK)

Kyle Bass on CNBC (video) (LINK)

Hin Leong Failed to Declare $800 Million Losses (LINK)

Esports and the Dangers of Serving at the Pleasure of a King - by Matthew Ball (LINK)

Book Notes: Whole Earth Discipline (LINK)

Yes, Even Introverts Can Be Lonely Right Now - by Adam Grant (LINK)

COVID-19: What’s wrong with the models? - by Peter Attia (LINK)

Links

Famed investor Charlie Munger shares insights into the ‘basic math of life’ at Redlands Forum [H/T @robertmackenzie)] (LINK) [Hopefully a video of this conversation, as well as the Daily Journal Annual Meeting occurring later this week, will become publicly available.]

The Gates Foundation's 2020 Annual Letter from Bill and Melinda Gates (LINK)

The Coming Retirement Crisis Part II - by Raoul Pal (video) (LINK)

Why We're in the Biggest Financial Bubble in History (w/ Steve Bregman & Mike Green) (video) (LINK)

Odd Lots Podcast: Why The Rise of Passive Investing Might Be Distorting The Market (w/ Mike Green) (LINK)

Hidden Forces Podcast: The Hundred Year Portfolio: How to Grow & Protect Generational Wealth | Christopher Cole (LINK)

Related paper: "The Allegory of the Hawk and the Serpent"

EconTalk Podcast: Marty Makary on the Price We Pay (LINK)

Related book: The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care--and How to Fix It

The Ezra Klein Show (podcast): Tim Urban on humanity’s wild future (LINK)

Related link: "The Story of Us"

In Praise of Irrationality (LINK)

Related book: Alchemy

Mental Models in Space (LINK)

Related book: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

Yuval Noah Harari Gives the Really Big Picture (LINK)

Related book: Sapiens

Links

"Certainly opportunity cost has been much more in the forefront of mind in the last 18 months. When things are moving very fast, when both prices are moving, and in certain cases, intrinsic business value is moving at a pace that’s far greater than we’ve seen for a long time, it means that in terms of calibrating A versus B, versus C, it’s tougher. It’s more interesting. It’s more challenging. And it can be way more profitable, too. But it’s a different task then when everything was moving at a more leisurely pace." --Warren Buffett (2009)

The Illusory Truth Effect: Why We Believe Fake News, Conspiracy Theories and Propaganda (LINK)

Facebook’s Platform Opportunity - by Ben Thompson (LINK)

AQR Says to Get Sober About Future Returns (LINK)

How Private Equity Buried Payless (LINK)

The Long Buy - by Fred Wilson (LINK)

Is CPG Doomed? (LINK)

The Absolute Return Letter, February 2020: Five Lessons from History (LINK)

Mutual Fund Observer, February 2020 (LINK)

Small Caps: Finding Great Companies (video/podcast, from about 3 years ago) (LINK)

The Acquirers Podcast: Private Value: Jonathan Boyar (LINK)

EconTalk (podcast): Robert Shiller on Narrative Economics (LINK)

Related book: Narrative Economics

The Peter Attia Drive (podcast): #91 – Eric Topol, M.D.: Can AI empower physicians and revolutionize patient care? (LINK)

11 Reasons Not to Become Famous (or “A Few Lessons Learned Since 2007”) - by Tim Ferriss (LINK)

You Can Vote. But You Can’t Choose What Is True. - by Yuval Noah Harari ($) (LINK)

Qassem Suleimani and How Nations Decide to Kill - by Adam Entous and Evan Osnos (LINK)

The New Coronavirus Is a Truly Modern Epidemic - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Book of the day (recommended by Christopher Davis): Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism

Links

"How ought one navigate an environment such as today’s? With great patience and strict discipline. Every position in the portfolio must offer the prospect of compelling rewards for the risks incurred. One must be vigilant to spot adverse developments and identify flawed theses, and be unemotional in taking appropriate action. One must sell when prices become full, even when there is nothing immediate to buy as a replacement. One must be willing to hold cash, but also positioned to move quickly to take advantage of opportunities that develop. Prudent portfolio diversification is necessary, but there must also be a willingness to concentrate in the best opportunities. One must avoid speculating, or chasing the latest investment fads. An investor must be wired for deep intellectual honesty and self-assessment, determined to get smarter and learn from experience, focused on where an edge is present, while moving out of strategies where one is not." --Seth Klarman (January 2020)

Artemis Capital Management: The Allegory of the Hawk and the Serpent (Research Paper, Audio)

How to Survive the 21st Century | DAVOS 2020 (Yuval Noah Harari - video) (LINK)

Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO: An Insight, An Idea | DAVOS 2020 (video) (LINK)

Clayton Christensen, guru of disruptive innovation and Latter-day Saint leader, dies at 67 (LINK)

Links

"The businesses at the top of my portfolio are not necessarily going to be the ones that perform the best over the long term but are the ones I know will perform." --Chris Bloomstran [Source] 

1986 article: How to Tame the Casino Society - by Warren E. Buffett [H/T Linc] (LINK)

Non-Ergodicity and its Implications for Businesses and Investors - by Sanjay Bakshi (LINK)

A Big Little Idea Called Ergodicity (Or The Ultimate Guide to Russian Roulette) (LINK)

Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Skin in the Game (video) (LINK)

Related book: Skin in the Game

Robert G. Hagstrom on Liberal Arts Investing (video) (LINK)

Making a Killing with Bethany McLean (podcast): Tesla, and why "Elon Musk doesn't care about you" (LINK)

The Acquirers Podcast: Big Decisions: Michael Mauboussin talks luck, skill, success, risk, mean reversion and the base rate (LINK)

Robert Iger talks with Oprah Winfrey about his career at Disney (video) (LINK)

Related book: The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

Yuval Noah Harari & Steven Pinker in conversation (video) (LINK)

The world is uniting to help this group - by Bill Gates (LINK)

Bill Gates delivers a speech at the Global Fund Replenishment conference in France.

The Many Contradictions of Thomas Edison - by Derek Thompson (LINK)

Related book: Edison - by Edmund Morris

It's only $4.99. But Costco's rotisserie chicken comes at a huge price (LINK)

A tweetstorm from Tren Griffin about wholesale transfer pricing power (LINK)

Why So Negative? - by Peter Zeihan (LINK)

What Economists (Including Me) Got Wrong About Globalization - by Paul Krugman (LINK)

Odd Lots Podcast: Why Governments Haven’t Learned The Lessons Of Japan (LINK)

The New Yorker Radio Hour (podcast): New Yorker Writers on Hong Kong, and Nixon After Tiananmen Square (LINK)

The New Yorker: Politics and More Podcast: Trump’s Abandonment of the Kurds Appeases Erdoğan and Infuriates Republicans (LINK)

Dexter Filkins joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss how the incursion into Syria is affecting one of the most volatile regions in the world, and what it could mean for Trump’s Presidency.

5 Tenets of a Negative Self-Help - by Mark Manson (LINK)

Magnetars are the most powerful magnets in the Universe. Here's how they're made. - by Phil Plait (LINK)

What Made Me Reconsider the Anthropocene - by Peter Brannen (LINK)

Links

"It’s better to pay attention to something that is being scorned than something that’s being championed." --Warren Buffett (2005) 

What Warren Buffett's Teacher Would Make of Today's Market - by Jason Zweig ($) (LINK)

A Thread on Diversification - by Sanjay Bakshi (LINK)

Amazon's Size Is Becoming a Problem---for Amazon ($) (LINK)

Degrees of Confidence - by Morgan Housel (LINK)

Think Again – a Big Think Podcast: Jared Diamond (LINK)

Related book: Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis

Capital Allocators Podcast: Michael Mauboussin – Who’s on the Other Side (LINK)

Related paper: Who Is On the Other Side?

Exponent Podcast: A Perfect Meal (LINK)

Aswath Damodaran chats with Meb Faber (podcast) (LINK)

Acquired Podcast: The Uber IPO (LINK)

Mark Zuckerberg & Yuval Noah Harari in Conversation (video) (LINK)

When the first stars in the Universe exploded, they really exploded - by Phil Plait (LINK)

TED Talk: Sleep is your superpower | Matt Walker (LINK)

[I'm a bit late to these, but...] The Bruce Lee Library episodes of the Bruce Lee Podcast look especially worth checking out.... Such as the episode on the Tao Te Ching and the episode on Krishnamurti's Commentaries on Living.

"Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is essentially your own." --Bruce Lee

Links

In case anyone missed it last week, I think this is the clear winner for the year's best investor letter (though at over 100 pages, "letter" may not be the correct description): Semper Augustus Investments Group: 2018 Annual Letter

Masters in Business Live, with Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital (video) (LINK)

An Investment Algorithm That Works (LINK)

The Value Chain Constraint - by Ben Thompson (LINK)

How a coat on Amazon took over a neighborhood — and then the internet [H/T @emilyleldridge] (LINK)

America’s Religion Is Work - by Derek Thompson (LINK)

Invest Like the Best Podcast: Michael Kitces – The Past, Present & Future of Financial Advice (LINK)

a16z Podcast: Capitalizing on an Autonomous Vehicle Future (LINK)

Acquired Podcast: Instagram Revisited (with Emily White) (LINK)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer: Yuval Harari - Unedited Conversation (LINK)

Does Planet 9 Exist? - by Phil Plait (LINK)

Is the World’s Largest Animal Too Reliant on the Past? - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Book of the day (also added to the Business Biographies list): The Making of Harcourt General: A History of Growth Through Diversification 1922-1992

**********

And for those going to the Fairfax Financial Annual Meeting in April, here are some of the other events worth checking out:

Practical History of Financial Markets Course

The Ben Graham Dinner

Ben Graham Centre's 2019 Value Investing Conference

YYX Toronto Value Symposium (early bird rate available for those that just want to attend and not present)

Links

Seth Klarman: A Bleak Warning on Global Division and Debt (LINK) [I haven't seen Klarman's letter yet, but if anyone happens to have a copy they'd be willing to share, it would be greatly appreciated (valueinvestingworld@gmail.com).]

CNBC's Davos interviews with Ray Dalio, David Rubenstein, Steve Schwarzman, Jeff Ubben, and Marc Benioff.

Dalio, Weber on Rethinking Global Financial Risk: Davos Panel (video) (LINK)

Survival is the Ultimate Performance Measure of a Business - by Ian Cassel (LINK)

Invest Like the Best Podcast: Eugene Wei – Tech, Media, and Culture (LINK)

The Knowledge Project Podcat: Shane Parrish chats with Josh Wolfe (LINK)

Netflix Flexes - by Ben Thompson (LINK)

Yuval Noah Harari: Why We Dominate the Earth (LINK)

Sir David Attenborough discusses his life's work at Davos 2019 (video) (LINK)

Spectacular 3D simulation of a massive solar flare… from start to finish (LINK)

Links

"In economics, it’s far easier to tell what will happen than when it will happen. I mean, you can see bubbles develop and things, but you do not know how big the bubble will get." --Warren Buffett (2005)

A Fifth of China's Homes Are Empty. That's 50 Million Apartments (LINK)

Google in China: When ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Met the Great Firewall (LINK)

Kate Welling discusses Merger Masters on the According to Sources podcast (LINK)

Reflections on the Bank of England’s History (LINK)

Related book: Till Time's Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England 1694-2013

Tony Robbins & Peter H. Diamandis: Vitality, Longevity, Education & Human Purpose during our Exponential Age (LINK)

The Longevity Opportunity (LINK)

How to Engineer Biology (LINK)

Tim Berners-Lee launches campaign to save the web from abuse [H/T @jasonzweigwsj] (LINK)

Tech C.E.O.s Are in Love With Their Principal Doomsayer (LINK)

The futurist philosopher Yuval Noah Harari thinks Silicon Valley is an engine of dystopian ruin. So why do the digital elite adore him so?

Book of the day: Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies

Links

"I do find that most creative people end up applying different rules to their lives—in terms of how their lives are managed—because creativity doesn't necessarily conform to more traditional boundaries; whether their hours of work, places of work, circumstances. What you have to accept with creators and creativity is that one rule doesn't apply. It's whatever works for them." --Bob Iger

Bob Iger’s Bets Are Paying Off Big Time for Disney (LINK)

Howard Marks talks with Barry Ritholtz (podcast) (LINK)

Related book: Mastering the Market Cycle

Robert Vinall with an excellent letter on the 10-year anniversary of his fund [registration required] (LINK)

A great list of Investment Resources [H/T Linc] (LINK) [It may be especially worthwhile to read THIS, 10 years after the event.]

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon doesn't think he has too much power in this economy (Corner Office podcast) (LINK)

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Investor Sentiment and the Housing Market -  by John Huber (LINK)

Risk Management - by Morgan Housel (LINK)

How Humans Get Hacked: Yuval Noah Harari & Tristan Harris Talk with WIRED (video) (LINK)

Yuval Noah Harari, historian and best-selling author of Sapiens, Homo Deus and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and Tristan Harris, co-founder and executive director of the Center for Humane Technology, speak with WIRED Editor in Chief Nicholas Thompson.

Lawrence Burns: "AUTONOMY: The Quest to Build the Driverless Car" | Talks at Google (LINK)

Yale Is Said to Invest in Crypto Fund That Raised $400 Million (LINK)

The Fed on Unemployment and the Future - by Frank K. Martin (LINK)

Jim Grant on CNBC yesterday (video) (LINK)

Michael Lewis calls Trump's approach to staffing the government 'insane' (video) [H/T Linc] (LINK)

Related book: The Fifth Risk

For Real Vision subscribers, Kyle Bass sits down with Graham Allison, author of Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?, to chat about China, geopolitics, history, and more (LINK) [If you're not a subscriber and would to join or take a free trial, you can sign up HERE.]

Human Action: A Chapter-by-Chapter Summary (LINK)

Four roads we call customer service - by Seth Godin (LINK)

On the Law of Diminishing Specialization - by Cal Newport (LINK)

Your Work Is the Only Thing That Matters - by Ryan Holiday (LINK)

A Controversial Virus Study Reveals a Critical Flaw in How Science Is Done - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Slightly More Than 100 Fantastic Articles [H/T Phil] (LINK)

A list of nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time.

Links

As most readers of this blog will know, Howard Marks' new book, Mastering the Market Cycle, was released today.

Winning It Back - by Ian Cassel (LINK)

Data Factories - by Ben Thompson (LINK)

Buyer beware? - by Seth Godin (LINK)

Atul Gawande talks with Shane Parrish on The Knowledge Project Podcast (LINK)

The world-renowned surgeon, writer, and researcher Atul Gawande shares powerful lessons about creating a culture of safe learning, the critical difference between a coach and a mentor, and how to ensure constant improvement in key areas of your personal and professional life.

Fritjof Capra on the MetaLearn Podcast (LINK)

Related book: The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision

Yuval Noah Harari In Conversation with Christine Lagarde (video) (LINK)

Related book: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Ryan Holiday on Merging Creativity and Business (podcast) (LINK)

A newly discovered extremely distant icy world points to Planet 9 - by Phil Plait (LINK)

What a Beetle’s Genital Worms Reveals About the Concept of Individuality - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Links

"The number one thing that has made us successful by far is obsessive-compulsive focus on the customer, as opposed to obsession over the competitor." --Jeff Bezos (Source)

All Transcripts From The Tim Ferriss Show (LINK)

Wall Street and the “Vampire Squid”: A Brief History - by Jason Zweig (LINK)

Ray Dalio On The Economy (video) (LINK)

Related book: Big Debt Crises - by Ray Dalio (free PDF HERE)

Bruce Flatt of Brookfield on owning the backbone of the global economy ($) [H/T Linc] (LINK)

3 Investments That May Have Hit Their Peak (LINK)

A Chinese Company Reshaping the World Leaves a Troubled Trail [H/T @WallStCynic] (LINK)

‘Whatever It Takes’ - by Frank K. Martin (LINK)

Amazon and Apple at a Trillion $: A Follow-up on Uncertainty and Catalysts! - by Aswath Damodaran (LINK)

Scott Galloway | Full Video | 2018 Code Commerce (LINK)

Peter Thiel on Trump, Gawker, and Leaving Silicon Valley (video) (LINK)

Yuval Noah Harari in conversation with Terrence McNally at Live Talks Los Angeles (video) (LINK)

Related book: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Radiolab Podcast: Infective Heredity (LINK)

Today, a fast moving, sidestepping, gene-swapping free-for-all that would’ve made Darwin’s head spin. 

David Quammen tells us about a shocking way that life can evolve - infective heredity. To figure it all out we go back to the earliest versions of life, and we revisit an earlier version of Radiolab. After reckoning with a scientific icon, we find ourselves in a tangle of genes that sheds new light on peppered moths, drug-resistant bugs, and a key moment in the evolution of life when mammals went a little viral. 

Related book: The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life - by David Quammen

Links

"It is necessary to caution the analyst against overconfidence in the practical utility of his findings. It is always good to know the truth, but it may not always be wise to act upon it, particularly in Wall Street. And it must always be remembered that the truth that the analyst uncovers is first of all not the whole truth and, secondly, not the immutable truth. The result of his study is only a more nearly correct version of the past. His information may have lost its relevance by the time he acquires it, or in any event by the time the market place is finally ready to respond to it." --Benjamin Graham and David Dodd (Security Analysis: Sixth Edition)

Marks Investor Series featuring Howard Marks, W’67, Co-Chairman, Oaktree Capital (video) (LINK)

Oaktree’s Howard Marks says Brexit makes UK too risky to invest in (LINK)

Fool Me Three Times And I Give Up - by Morgan Housel (LINK)

Knowledge vs. Skill - by Ben Carlson (LINK)

The Holy Active Empire - by Jamie Catherwood (LINK)

Apple and Amazon at a Trillion $: Looking Back and Looking Forward! - by Aswath Damodaran (LINK)

How to Make a Killing in Gene Therapy [H/T Ian] (LINK)

Creative Prompts - by Fred Wilson (LINK)

Habits vs. Workflows - by Cal Newport (LINK)

a16z Podcast: Tesla and the Nature of Disruption (LINK)

Crazy/Genius Podcast (from last week): Can Science Cure Aging? (LINK)

Crazy/Genius Podcast: Will We Ever Stop Eating Animal Meat? (LINK)

Long Now Seminars (podcast version) -- Julia Galef: Soldiers and Scouts: Why our minds weren’t built for truth, and how we can change that (LINK)

Sam Harris speaks with Yuval Noah Harari about his new book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (podcast) (LINK)

What Ecstasy Does to Octopuses - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Despite their wacky brains, these intelligent animals seem to respond to the drug in a very similar way to humans.

A 558-Million-Year-Old Mystery Has Been Solved - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Scientists have finally confirmed that a weird ribbed oval called Dickinsonia is an animal.

Yuval Harari - The Challenges of The 21st Century

Link to video

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Related book: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Links

GMO Quarterly Letter: Emerging Markets—No Reward Without Risk (LINK)

The Incredible Story of Gert Boyle and Columbia Sportswear (LINK)

For Real Vision subscribers, Jean-Marie Eveillard makes an appearance in a chat with Jim Grant (LINK) [If you're not a subscriber and would to join or take a free trial, you can sign up HERE.]

Lessons from Michael Batnick (Big Mistakes) - by Tren Griffin (LINK)

Related book: Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments

Worth paying for - by Seth Godin (LINK)

When you bring a product or service to the free market, the market decides what it’s worth. If you don’t want to be treated like a commodity (a race to the bottom), there are two paths: 

Through scarcity: This is worth extra because there’s not a lot of it or we’re the only one who’s got it. 

Through connection: This is worth extra because everyone else is already using it. 

A little or a lot.

a16z Podcast: Earned Secrets (LINK)

What does it really take to start a startup (or work at one)? In this episode of the a16z Podcast — based on a Q&A with Ben Horowitz as part of an event hosted by a16z’s Technical Talent and People Practices team for a16z portfolio company summer interns 2018 — Ben shares quick thoughts and advice geared towards those early in their tech careers.

EconTalk Podcast: Frank Dikotter on Mao's Great Famine (LINK)

Related book: Mao's Great Famine

The Art of Manliness Podcast: The Life of a Dragon — The Untold Story of Bruce Lee (LINK)

Related book: Bruce Lee: A Life

Scientists Have Uncovered a Disturbing Climate Change Precedent - by Peter Brannen (LINK)

Book of the day (will be released next month): 21 Lessons for the 21st Century - by Yuval Noah Harari

Links

"There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice humility, is boundless." --Eric Hoffer, 

The True Believer

TED Talk -- Yuval Noah Harari: Why fascism is so tempting — and how your data could power it (LINK)

“If I Were Wrong, What Would It Look Like?” - by Morgan Housel (LINK)

Jack Bogle’s Battle (LINK)

Business Lessons about Growth from Andrew Chen (Andreessen Horowitz) - by Tren Griffin (LINK)

Bitcoin’s energy use got studied, and you libertarian nerds look even worse than usual [H/T @AlexRubalcava] (LINK)

Making Sense of Mortgages: The Problem, and the Opportunity (LINK)

John Doerr on Recode Decode (podcast and transcript) (LINK)

Related book: Measure What Matters

***

"Ideally, we like to invest in growing companies with a sustainable competitive advantage and attractive economics in combination with a management team that will intelligently redeploy or redistribute excess capital. In a world where it is difficult to find good ideas, our style is to diligently and patiently search the world for fat pitches, and then swing on the rare opportunity when we think the odds are in our favor. When times are good, we hope to invest in ideas that can double over three years. Given that we are not favorably disposed to ‘cheating’ on either valuation or quality, when ideas are harder to come by, as they are now, we are more likely to have higher than average cash levels. " --Peter Kinney and Mark Landecker, Acacia Capital (April 2007)

Humans, Gods and Technology - VPRO documentary - 2017

Nobody knows how our world will look like in 25 years. Perhaps our work is taken over by autonomous robots and we become the slaves of the technology we have created ourselves. The big questions about the future of man and his relation to technology are presented to two important thinkers of the moment: Kevin Kelly and Yuval Noah Harari.

Link to video

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Related books:

Homo Deus - by Yuval Noah Harari

The Inevitable - by Kevin Kelly

Links

"Our outlook for inflation is always the same. We feel there's a big bias toward inflation - both in the U.S. and around the world. But our objective is not to profit from it as much as it is to avoid disaster. Our outlook leads to our buying businesses with the same characteristics that are good in low inflation - namely pricing flexibility, high returns on capital, profits received in cash and so forth." - Warren Buffett, 1988 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting [via OID] [Related link: Warren Buffett’s Comments on Inflation]

Investing is Hard - by Ian Cassel (LINK)

On Social Media and Its Discontents - by Cal Newport (LINK)

Ryan Holiday speaks with James Altucher about his latest book, Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue (podcast) (LINK)

What’s Next for Humanity: Automation, New Morality and a ‘Global Useless Class’ (LINK)

The Death of the Last Male Northern White Rhino Won’t Change the Species' Fate - by Ed Yong (LINK)

Will the Future Be Human?

What can we learn from a history of the future? Historian Yuval Harari takes us on a journey through technological development and challenges leaders to develop a substantive vision of what it means for society, politics, religion and ideology.

Link to video

..........

Harari also did a Q&A session: Questioning Our Human Future

Related book: Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow