John Templeton’s investment philosophy centers on buying value during times of maximum pessimism when fear drives prices below intrinsic worth. In 1939, with Europe sliding toward war and financial markets in a state of generalised dread, a twenty-six-year-old investment analyst named John Templeton called his broker and placed an unusual order. He wanted to buy … Read more
Emotional self-governance: The practice of strategically managing anger, resentment, and recrimination to preserve cognitive resources and sustain long-term efforts toward goals, as taught by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s mother Celia Bader. Source: Wikimedia Commons Celia Amster arrived in the United States from Odessa at four years old, part of the great wave of Jewish emigration from … Read more
Sustine et abstine (bear and forbear) is a Stoic principle of enduring what must be endured and abstaining from what must be abstained, emphasizing acceptance of what is beyond one’s control and consistent right action. Source: Wikimedia Commons On the evening of 22 September 1796, in a small house in London, Mary Lamb — twenty-one … Read more
Benjamin Franklin’s character journaling system is a daily practice of marking transgressions against thirteen personal virtues with a weekly focus rotation, turning self-improvement into a measurable, persistent habit. Source: Wikimedia Commons There is a small notebook in American history that deserves more attention than it receives. Benjamin Franklin — printer, scientist, diplomat, polymath — kept … Read more
Financial independence as an epistemic prerequisite is the condition where one’s livelihood does not depend on reaching predetermined conclusions, allowing thought to remain uncorrupted by patronage, career risk, or social pressure. Source: Wikimedia Commons Baruch Spinoza was offered a university professorship in Heidelberg in 1673. The offer came with a remarkable guarantee: he would be … Read more
Impartial Spectator: Adam Smith’s concept of an imagined neutral observer used to evaluate one’s own conduct from a fair and disinterested perspective. Source: Wikimedia Commons Almost everyone who invokes Adam Smith has read The Wealth of Nations — or at least the chapters about the invisible hand and the division of labor. Almost no one … Read more
Stoic Investing: The practice of applying the Stoic dichotomy of control—focusing solely on one’s analytical process, temperament, and character while releasing attachment to external market outcomes—to achieve long-term investment discipline and peace of mind. Source: Wikimedia Commons Marcus Aurelius never managed a portfolio. He managed an empire — and wrote his most important thoughts not … Read more
Independent Spirit: A principle of intellectual and investment autonomy that rejects conformity to political, social, or market pressures, relying solely on evidence and rational analysis. 一九二七年，王国维自沉于昆明湖。陈寅恪为撰碑铭，留下了中国近代学术史上最著名的十字： 独立之精神，自由之思想。 此十字，既为王国维之墓志，亦为陈寅恪一生之写照。 一、何谓独立 陈寅恪所言之独立，非孤芳自赏之谓，乃一种学术上的根本态度：不依附于任何政治势力，不屈从于任何权威意见，唯以证据与理性为准绳。 其于碑铭中进一步阐释： 惟此独立之精神，自由之思想，历千万祀，与天壤而同久，共三光而永光。 此语深意在于：政治势力、学术潮流、社会风尚，皆有其兴衰更替。唯学者之独立精神与自由思想，方能超越时代之桎梏，与日月同光。 二、失明之后 一九四四年，陈寅恪右眼失明。翌年，左眼亦失明。时年五十五岁，学术生涯正值鼎盛。 若在常人，恐就此搁笔。然陈寅恪失明后之三十年，恰为其学术生命最为丰沛之时期。其以口述、他人代笔之法，完成《论再生缘》《柳如是别传》等巨著。 《柳如是别传》凡八十余万言，考证明末名妓柳如是与钱谦益之关系，实则借古人之酒杯，浇胸中之块垒——其所书写者，乃知识分子于历史巨变中之处世抉择。 以失明之身，仅凭口授，成就八十万字之考证巨著。此非单纯意志力之展示，乃“独立之精神”于逆境中之至高体现。 三、拒绝与坚守 一九五三年，中国科学院拟聘陈寅恪为中古史研究所所长。陈寅恪提出二项条件： 不宗奉马列主义，不学习政治。 此举于当时政治环境中，几近以卵击石。然陈寅恪之所以如此，非为逞一时意气，乃谨守学术之底线——若学术研究须以预设结论为前提，则研究本身已失其意义。 此与芒格所言“理性是一种道德义务”（rationality is a moral duty）异曲同工。学者之独立，投资者之理性，本质上皆为拒绝令外部压力扭曲自身之判断。 四、对投资的启示 陈寅恪之行谊，与投资看似无关，实则深刻相通。 巴菲特区分 inner scorecard 与 outer scorecard——前者以己之标准衡量己身，后者以他人之标准衡量己身。陈寅恪终其一生，未尝倚仗 … Read more
Condorcet’s Jury Theorem is a mathematical framework demonstrating that, under conditions of independence and reasonable competence, larger groups of individuals tend to make correct collective decisions with increasing probability. Source: Wikimedia Commons In March 1794, the Marquis de Condorcet was hiding in a boarding house in Paris. The Revolution he had championed had turned on … Read more
Walter Schloss investing approach: A long-only, highly diversified value strategy that buys stocks trading at steep discounts to book value and holds them patiently for mean reversion, relying solely on audited balance sheets and extreme discipline. Walter Schloss never visited a company. He never spoke to management. He didn’t use a computer until he was … Read more