Voltaire thought that history is the record of the crimes and absurdities of mankind. I thought that was a very unworthy definition. I should say history is the record of the activities of mankind and it has two sides — one is the crimes and absurdities and the other is the contributions to civilization, the lasting developments which enabled each generation to proceed with a larger heritage than the one before. And that to me is the meaning of history.
Category: Notes
-
The Meaning Of History
-
Accepting Idiosyncratic Portfolios
Establishing and maintaining an unconventional investment profile requires acceptance of uncomfortably idiosyncratic portfolios, which frequently appear downright imprudent in the eyes of conventional wisdom.
-
Smart People
It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.
-
Investment Performance
Performance is what happens when events collide with an existing portfolio.
-
Doing Something That People Said Would Never Be Done
The greatest pleasure I’ve had is to try to do something that people said would never be done.
-
Subtractive Epistemology
The most robust contribution to knowledge consists in removing what we think is wrong—subtractive epistemology.
-
Reading All The Time
In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time – none, zero.