The older I get the more I realise how many kinds of smart there are. There are a lot of kinds of smart. There are a lot of kinds of stupid, too. – Jeff Bezos Instead of just trying to be smart, it’s wise to think about not being stupid. – Ray Dalio A few kinds of stupid that are prevalent in business and investing: 1. Intelligence creep: not knowing the boundaries of what you’re good at, and assuming talent in one area signals skill in all others; 2. Underestimating the complexity of how past successes were gained in a way that makes you overestimate their repeatability; 3. Discounting the views of people who aren’t as credentialed as you are, underestimating the special knowledge they have since they’ve experienced a world you haven’t; 4. Not understanding that in the classroom the game is you versus the test, but in the real world it’s you versus co-workers, employees, customers, regulators, etc., all of whom need to be persuaded by more than having the right answer; and 5. Close...
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