Reading Buffett’s 2025 Letter: What the Oracle Actually Said (and What He Didn’t) The Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting is the one investor communications event that functions simultaneously as financial disclosure, philosophical seminar, and trust-building exercise. At 94, Warren Buffett used the 2025 meeting — his 60th — to do something subtler than announce strategy: … Read more
Lattice of mental models: a cognitive framework integrating key concepts from multiple disciplines—such as physics, biology, psychology, and economics—that enables multi-perspective analysis and guards against single-framework bias. Source: Wikimedia Commons A lattice of mental models is Charlie Munger’s term for a cognitive framework built from the foundational concepts of multiple disciplines — physics, psychology, biology, … Read more
The Wyckoff Method is a technical analysis framework that uses price and volume to identify institutional accumulation and distribution phases, enabling investors to align with smart money through the four-phase market cycle. The Wyckoff Method is a framework for reading price and volume as evidence of institutional intent, identifying the four-phase market cycle — accumulation, … Read more
Circle of competence is the mental model of clearly identifying the boundary of what you truly understand and operating exclusively within that zone to avoid errors born of false expertise. Source: Wikimedia Commons Tom Watson Sr., the founder of IBM, was asked about his formula for success. His answer: I’m no genius. I’m smart in … Read more
Munger’s Iron Rule states that the surest path to achieving your goals is to become worthy of them through ethical conduct, lifelong learning, and rewarding good behavior. Source: Wikimedia Commons In December 2023, Charlie Munger passed away at 99. Earlier that year, he spoke at the Daily Journal Corporation annual shareholders meeting — his last … Read more
Inversion is a mental model that solves problems by identifying and avoiding what causes failure instead of directly pursuing success. Source: Wikimedia Commons The mathematician Carl Jacobi had a motto: man muss immer umkehren — one must always invert. Munger adopted it as his primary thinking tool and applied it to everything from business analysis … Read more
Fate is like a violin string: the philosophy that life’s meaning arises from the tension of constraints, and that playing well—living with purpose despite suffering—is sufficient reward. 死是一件不必急于求成的事，死是一个必然会降临的节日。 Death is something that needs no rush to accomplish; death is an inevitable festival that will surely arrive. — 史铁生, 我与地坛 (Me and the Temple of Earth), … Read more
Sustine et Abstine: The Stoic-derived principle of enduring adversity with unwavering composure and refraining from destructive emotional reactions, preserving inner dignity and character regardless of external circumstances. 这一代人的故事，再不写就没有了。 The stories of this generation — if not written now, will be gone. — 齊邦媛 (Chi Pang-yuan) 齊邦媛 was born in 1924 in Tieling, Manchuria. She died … Read more
Second-level thinking is an investment approach that evaluates not only fundamentals but also the degree to which those fundamentals are already reflected in market consensus, seeking a variant perception that can lead to superior returns. First-level thinking says, “It’s a good company; let’s buy the stock.” Second-level thinking says, “It’s a good company, but everyone … Read more
Margin of Safety is the investing principle of purchasing securities at a price substantially below their estimated intrinsic value to create a buffer against analytical errors or adverse market events, a concept Benjamin Graham adapted from engineering. Confronted with a like challenge to distill the secret of sound investment into three words, we venture the … Read more