Shiller: On Bubbles & Busts
Nobel laureate Robert Schiller talks about bubbles, busts and what he thinks drives markets.
Details
Why Runners Can’t Eat Whatever They Want
Bad news for endurance athletes. As a 10-mile-a-day runner, Dave McGillivray thought he could eat whatever he wanted without worrying about his heart. “I figured if the furnace was hot enough, it would burn everything,” said McGillivray, who is 59. But a diagnosis six months ago of coronary artery disease shocked McGillivray, a finisher of…
Details
Job Opening
If anyone is interested Cambridge University has an opening for the Lucasian Chair of mathematics. Previous holders include Issac Newton, George Stokes, Charles Babbage, Paul Dirac and Stephen Hawking. I am actually surprised by the advertisement since I thought they generally had someone earmarked for the job when the tenure of the incumbent ended.
Why Is Wall Street So Divorced From Reality? A Psychological Explanation.
This is one of those articles I wish I had the insight to write. Think about the days of feudalism. Back then, nobody bothered to justify their position in an egalitarian ethical framework. Instead, there was the “natural” superiority of the aristocracy, which allowed landlords to pillage the peasantry without even a scrap of justification.…
Details
The World Is Full Of Morons
Have you ever wondered why the world is like it is. I have to admit I used to ponder this question all the time but then I spent more time with people and began to realise that the majority of people are functional morons barely able to muster enough cognitive ability to wipe their own…
Details
Luck and Skill Untangled: The Science of Success
The world around us is a capricious and often difficult place. But as we have developed our mathematical tools with increased sophistication, we have in turn improved our ability to understand the world around us. And one of the seemingly simple places where this occurs is in the relationship between luck and skill. We have…
Details
Afghanistan’s First Spaceman Returns Home
In 1988, just as the Soviet army was preparing to pull out of Afghanistan, a rocket blasted off carrying the first and only Afghan to travel into space. Abdulahad Momand returned to earth a hero – but within three years he was forced to flee the country. “When I was little I used to look…
Details
Are You Ready For The Resource Revolution?
I came across this magnificent graphic in this report by the consulting group McKinsey. It is one of those facts that you think you know but have not any way internalised. Of course my car sits idle for the majority of the time but when someone puts it in a graphic such as this it is…
Details
Why The Media Is Crap
One of the greatest things that that traders/investors can do to improve their chances of success is to remove themselves from any form of contact with the mainstream media. The last thing you want to be doing is taking any notice of talking heads in the media. As evidence of this consider this piece of…
Details
