Off topic, but the Charlie Munger references made me think of his answer to a question about his thoughts about the wisdom of investing in crypto. He quipped that Oscar Wilde’s description of fox hunting applies, “It’s the pursuit of the inedible by the unspeakable.”
Regarding number nine, one of my favorite quotes from Swann's Way:
"The fault I find with our journalism is that it forces us to take an interest in some fresh triviality or other every day, whereas only three or four books in a lifetime give us anything that is of real importance. Suppose that, every morning, when we tore the wrapper off our paper with fevered hands, a transmutation were to take place, and we were to find inside it—oh! I don't know; shall we say Pascal's Pensées?" He articulated the title with an ironic emphasis so as not to appear pedantic. "And then, in the gilt and tooled volumes which we open once in ten years," he went on, shewing that contempt for the things of this world which some men of the world like to affect, "we should read that the Queen of the Hellenes had arrived at Cannes, or that the Princesse de Léon had given a fancy dress ball. In that way we should arrive at the right proportion between 'information' and 'publicity.'
"It’s vaster than we can see, deeper than we can fathom..." Reminds me or "Neither Out Far Nor in Deep" by Robert Frost, though there are differences in the sentiments expressed-
"They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?"
Similarly, Goodhart's law is more about processes than people yet is a bit reminiscent of Wittgenstein's Ruler. "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
Less tangential, as one who does not suffer fools gladly, is the comment I once heard from a 3rd party (about a mentor)- He says he doesn't suffer fools gladly, but really that's just his excuse for being an asshole.
The first step to balanced thinking is to agree with Emily -- the mind as in soul or intelligent being is greater than the sky, and, physically the sky enfolds the brain... Until one can admit the scope of the problem, no answer is possible. The mind is vast and deep like the sky, awake when we sleep, capable of endless travel thru imagination, and spiritually energetic like a star! Yes, AI wants to overtake Mind, but the clear-eyed among us will never see AI as more than a collection of nut and bolts, much less less depend on it to think for us. AI is merely physical, like the sky.
Epistemic humility: the more I learn, the less I Know; the more I Know, the less I learn. And, from my years in higher Ed, EH induces considerable ire because it does not commit to any academic creed except the continued refined awareness of one’s limited knowledge. It quietly resists thoughtless conformity to Certainty and assertion of Truth and promotes deliberate examination, curiosity, and...questioning. A destabilizing deferral favoring deliberation rather than determination. This is not easy in our world of immediacy. EH relates knowledge to other knowledge and does not accumulate it like capital wealth which projects pride in our puny amounts relative to each other’s wealth (more money/knowledge=more virtue).
This is so good I would needlepoint it onto 10 pillows if I were into that kind of thing. I’m not, so instead I will quote from it liberally, but I promise to give proper attribution. Thanks, Gurwinder, and well done.
I might as well construct a boilerplate comment expressing how much I appreciate these articles, how much they personally resonate and how refreshing it is to see these insights broken down into simple language. Then just drop it every time.
Sensible observations and useful recommendations; particularly liked Wittgenstein's Ruler.
Reminds me of an article by American engineer Richard Hamming -- whom you probably know of at least from his error-correcting codes -- on "The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics", something of a take-off from a similarly titled essay by Eugene Wigner:
But of particular note, a quote of astronomer Arthur Eddington:
"Some men went fishing in the sea with a net, and upon examining what they caught they concluded that there was a minimum size to the fish in the sea."
Quite insightful, reflecting the errors that I make in my thinking.
Also, could you write about confidence and the role of it in forming beliefs and truths about the world?
What are the common patterns we see with how confident people think and how under confident people think? Balancing skepticism and Confidence?
I feel that our world puts a premium on confidence, opening up doors for the ones who possess it. Simultaneously, I feel there is a certain downside of it, which I am not able to gather. A part of it is explained by Dunning Kruger Effect, but would want to know more about this topic.
are you familiar with Daniel Kahneman & his book: Thinking Fast and Slow?
there was a psuedo-biography written about him & his professional partner & friend Amos Tversky by Michael Lewis called the Undoing Project. both were good reads, the former was a slow read...
I fail at all of these, most of the time. Thankyou for the guidance.
Off topic, but the Charlie Munger references made me think of his answer to a question about his thoughts about the wisdom of investing in crypto. He quipped that Oscar Wilde’s description of fox hunting applies, “It’s the pursuit of the inedible by the unspeakable.”
Great work as always Gurwinder, many thanks.
Regarding number nine, one of my favorite quotes from Swann's Way:
"The fault I find with our journalism is that it forces us to take an interest in some fresh triviality or other every day, whereas only three or four books in a lifetime give us anything that is of real importance. Suppose that, every morning, when we tore the wrapper off our paper with fevered hands, a transmutation were to take place, and we were to find inside it—oh! I don't know; shall we say Pascal's Pensées?" He articulated the title with an ironic emphasis so as not to appear pedantic. "And then, in the gilt and tooled volumes which we open once in ten years," he went on, shewing that contempt for the things of this world which some men of the world like to affect, "we should read that the Queen of the Hellenes had arrived at Cannes, or that the Princesse de Léon had given a fancy dress ball. In that way we should arrive at the right proportion between 'information' and 'publicity.'
Insightful as expected. TY!
"It’s vaster than we can see, deeper than we can fathom..." Reminds me or "Neither Out Far Nor in Deep" by Robert Frost, though there are differences in the sentiments expressed-
"They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?"
Similarly, Goodhart's law is more about processes than people yet is a bit reminiscent of Wittgenstein's Ruler. "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
Less tangential, as one who does not suffer fools gladly, is the comment I once heard from a 3rd party (about a mentor)- He says he doesn't suffer fools gladly, but really that's just his excuse for being an asshole.
The first step to balanced thinking is to agree with Emily -- the mind as in soul or intelligent being is greater than the sky, and, physically the sky enfolds the brain... Until one can admit the scope of the problem, no answer is possible. The mind is vast and deep like the sky, awake when we sleep, capable of endless travel thru imagination, and spiritually energetic like a star! Yes, AI wants to overtake Mind, but the clear-eyed among us will never see AI as more than a collection of nut and bolts, much less less depend on it to think for us. AI is merely physical, like the sky.
Epistemic humility: the more I learn, the less I Know; the more I Know, the less I learn. And, from my years in higher Ed, EH induces considerable ire because it does not commit to any academic creed except the continued refined awareness of one’s limited knowledge. It quietly resists thoughtless conformity to Certainty and assertion of Truth and promotes deliberate examination, curiosity, and...questioning. A destabilizing deferral favoring deliberation rather than determination. This is not easy in our world of immediacy. EH relates knowledge to other knowledge and does not accumulate it like capital wealth which projects pride in our puny amounts relative to each other’s wealth (more money/knowledge=more virtue).
This is so good I would needlepoint it onto 10 pillows if I were into that kind of thing. I’m not, so instead I will quote from it liberally, but I promise to give proper attribution. Thanks, Gurwinder, and well done.
Very nice list! Some of the most obvious things are often the ones we need to be reminded of the most.
I might as well construct a boilerplate comment expressing how much I appreciate these articles, how much they personally resonate and how refreshing it is to see these insights broken down into simple language. Then just drop it every time.
Great article! Great writing!
Sensible observations and useful recommendations; particularly liked Wittgenstein's Ruler.
Reminds me of an article by American engineer Richard Hamming -- whom you probably know of at least from his error-correcting codes -- on "The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics", something of a take-off from a similarly titled essay by Eugene Wigner:
https://math.dartmouth.edu/~matc/MathDrama/reading/Hamming.html
But of particular note, a quote of astronomer Arthur Eddington:
"Some men went fishing in the sea with a net, and upon examining what they caught they concluded that there was a minimum size to the fish in the sea."
Anti-routine is a way to achieve and enforce Mungers Iron Prescription.
Quite insightful, reflecting the errors that I make in my thinking.
Also, could you write about confidence and the role of it in forming beliefs and truths about the world?
What are the common patterns we see with how confident people think and how under confident people think? Balancing skepticism and Confidence?
I feel that our world puts a premium on confidence, opening up doors for the ones who possess it. Simultaneously, I feel there is a certain downside of it, which I am not able to gather. A part of it is explained by Dunning Kruger Effect, but would want to know more about this topic.
Thank you.
great article.
are you familiar with Daniel Kahneman & his book: Thinking Fast and Slow?
there was a psuedo-biography written about him & his professional partner & friend Amos Tversky by Michael Lewis called the Undoing Project. both were good reads, the former was a slow read...
Another tour de force. These lists are amazing thanks so much. The breadth and depth here is great. Love the “measuring the measurer” so much