Christmas is a special time to share with family and friends. This Christmas was our first in America and we’ve been blessed with several people who’ve opened their doors, families and hearts to us. From friends having us to stay on arrival and sharing their home, friends of theirs hosting us for Christmas, a big … More Longing, embracing the detail and growing closer
Since university days, Aristotle’s description of virtue as the middle path between two extremes struck me as a wonderfully simple yet nuanced approach to ethics. I jumped at the chance to buy this old green book at Emmarentia Dam in Joburg a few years ago. ZAR20 for insights which have lasted thousands of years 🙂 … More Aristotle: on Education
This is the transcript of a talk I gave at Sakelige in Pretoria on Business Cycles and Capital Structure in October 2019. Video recording here. Good afternoon. Great to be here with you, a group of real risk-takers who are advancing society one risk at a time. Honour to share the stage with a mentor of … More Policy impatience and perpetual business cycle autumn
Not the best book I’ve ever read. Not terrible either. Mauboussin is an experienced and creative thinking investor with a number of great insights – I’ve listed a few below. I just didn’t really get into the book and it took a while to read so there wasn’t much enjoyment. Investing is more about temperament … More More Than you Know: Michael Mauboussin
Howe & Strauss describe three different approaches to thinking about time in their book, “The Fourth Turning”: chaotic, cyclical and linear. This is an incredibly valuable lens through which to view the world. Each approach has its benefits but a singular focus on one at the expense of the others can lead to dangerous outcomes. … More Cyclical resurgence after dangerously linear thinking
Short and sharp from South African bitcoin enthusiast and founder of SA crypto exchange Luno (formerly BitX) Simon Dingle. He covers most of the major concepts surrounding bitcoin, without delving into great detail, making “In Maths we Trust” a useful read for newbies. It’s always good to run through the basics and pinpoint areas where … More Book Review: In Math We Trust
An insightful account of the social, economic and political trends of the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s, centred on the monetary economics leading to the great depression. As someone with a passion for monetary economics, there were times when I was looking for a little more opinion, defence of good ideas and criticism of weak. But … More Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed
Avoiding identity politics I avoid aligning myself with labels, tags or groups because I don’t want to bear the consequences of associating with people where I have limited control over their actions. Political parties, in particular, are a minefield of identity politics. As soon as you identify as Republican/Democrat in the US, Labour/Conservative in the … More Voting for the Capitalist Party in SA Elections 2019
I like to think of Nassim Taleb as a modern philosopher. “Modern” is somewhat misleading though, because Taleb vehemently opposes modernity, intellectualism, scientism and academia. Taleb likes practitioners and is opposed to anyone without skin in the game. Skin in the Game is essentially real investment, where one’s actions and opinions have consequence. Taleb’s latest book … More Skin In The Game – Nassim Taleb
If I were to characterise my father in one word, I’d choose “principled.” I remember not getting my way as a child and asking why, why, why couldn’t I have the latest object of my affection. Often the answer was “it’s the principle of the matter!” After years of rebelling against them, I’ve become committed … More Principles – Ray Dalio
Sound Money 