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rssFascinating Insights From Nobel Prize-Winner Robert Shiller
On why so many experts missed the 2008 financial crisis: “Experts have always missed big events like this. If you look at the record of statistical forecasting models, they tend to get to the recession when it’s starting to come. A casual observer might start to worry about it. Forecasting it years out, they don’t get; in particular, if you look at the Great Depression of the 1930s, nobody forecasted that. Zero. Nobody. Now there were, of course, some guys who were saying the stock market is overpriced and it would come down, but if you look at what they said, did that mean a depression is coming? A decade-long depression? That was never said.”
On short-term thinking: “I think that there’s too much faith in analysis of short-term data. You see some pattern, and you can do a statistical test and prove that will prove that it is significant or passes the smell test to a statistician. But the problem is, the world is always changing. It’s not a stable thing. The underlying human parameters may be stable, but you can see that there is institutional and cultural evolution, and it’s not something that you can quantify.”
Leonardo Da Vinci's model for learning to paint, from his own notes- Trading applications
1. Imitate a masters work — best to imitate an antique.
2. Draw objects from relief but not from memory.
3. Familiarity of the human form — seeing each muscle in every possible position.
4. Do stick drawings from nature and expand them at home.
5. “Thus I say to you, whom nature prompts to pursue this art, if you wish to have a sound knowledge of the forms of objects begin with the details of them, and do not go on to the second [step] till you have the first well fixed in memory and in practice.”
6. Keep the company of people who share the outlook of being mirror like in their observations. If such people cannot be found then keep your speculations to yourself.
7. “I myself have proved it to be of no small use, when in bed in the dark, to recall in fancy the external details of forms previously studied, or other noteworthy things conceived by subtle speculation; and this is certainly an admirable exercise, and useful.”
8. “Winter evenings ought to be employed by young students in looking over the things prepared during the summer; that is, all the drawings from the nude done in the summer should be brought together and a choice made of the best [studies of] limbs and body.”
9. He is a poor disciple who does not excel his master.
10. “Some may distinctly assert that those persons are under a delusion who call that painter a good master who can do nothing well but a head or a figure. Certainly this is no great achievement.
11. “Nature has beneficently provided that throughout the world you may find something to imitate.”
12. The mind of the painter must resemble a mirror.
13. “When, Oh draughtsmen, you desire to find relaxation in games you should always practice such things as may be of use in your profession”
14. “The sorest misfortune is when your views are in advance of your work.”
Investor overreaction and the capital cycle – look for inflection points.
Advice from Jim Valvano on how to live each day: 1 laugh 2 think 3 cry (happiness or joy)
Anti-smoking campaign used 13000 actual cigarettes to create Hitler & Bin Laden with the text "cigarettes kill more
Think about it
The way to build superior long-term returns is through preservation of capital and home runs . . . When you have tremendous conviction on a trade, you have to go for the jugular. It takes courage to be a pig.”
Charlie Munger on intelligent fanatic Les Schwab
Thought For A Day
8 Trading Tips
1. Know that you can’t control the markets: but you can be well-prepared.
2. Set aside time to prepare: Block out an hour before the markets open through the first hour of trading to make final plans for the day and focus only on your markets.
3. Generate a Trading Plan: Create a Trading Plan and stick to it! Having a plan in place can ease your mind, give you direction and help focus your efforts for profitability. It allows you to control how you will use your trading time.
4. Take a deep breath: You know you can’t control the markets so take a deep breath knowing what you can control – your trading decisions – and don’t let emotion or anxiety get in the way. You can also take a few moments to clear your mind with relaxation and meditation exercises.
5. Turn off all potential distractions: Avoid all potential distractions. When your day starts, make sure you don’t begin it with a potentially distracting activity like Twittering and checking email. Start with a focus on the markets and on how you will perform today. You will feel good about yourself for being well-prepared.
6. Stay positive! There is plenty of research proving the power of positive thinking and general thought on one’s life. Creating a positive approach right from the start of the trading day will have a positive influence on your trading during the rest of the day.
7. Separate emotion, anxiety and the facts: The one reason people feel like trading failures is because they allow their emotions and anxiety to control their actions rather than sticking to the facts of charts and information.
8. Admit that you will win some and lose some: Not everyone can win every time in the markets, but allowing yourself to accept that you will win some and lose some will help you brush off any emotions and anxiety that you feel so you can focus back on winning.