Starting to write thoughts again

 It's been quite a few years since I've written anything on this blog, but I want to start again. In part, I've been thinking more about investments and investing philosophy and wanted to write some things down to

1. make my thoughts clear

2. hold myself accountable to ideas

3. hammer in some lessons that I've learned

4. to have a record of my thoughts of the future!

I'll likely also be writing some philosophical ideas and some of the things I'm thinking about through life. Cheers!

Slowing Down Time

"Slowing Down Time" is a chapter from the book, The Art of Learning by Waitzkin. The book is more of an anecdotal account of how a child chess prodigy turned national champion learns how to be a world champion tai chi master. The book is about his thoughts on learning and taking on a new endeavor. It's not at all statistical or research-based.

Slowing down time means processing more information in less time by encountering similar situations or problems in the past. He relates this idea to chess. A higher level player can process the same chess board (information) with less effort than that of a lower level player. He uses a similar concept to relate to tai chi. An experienced fighter will need to move less because he can read his opponents movements. 

In chess, Waitzkin learns starting from the endgame. He starts with 2 kings and a pawn. Then he adds more pawns. Then he plays with 2 kings a pawn and a rook, etc. He first learns how each piece moves and then adds complexity in order to build experience or intuition. Waitzkin believes that players who memorize openings and certain lines do not have the same level of understanding of how pieces form a board. He likes to create complex board states and force his opponents to crumble under pressure.

Plato's Cave

A good friend of mine introduced me to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. In the story, men are chained inside a cave and are only able to see shadows of puppets. To these men, shadows are reality. They know of nothing else in the world. One day, they are released from their chains and they see the fire and the puppet master. They discover fire but also realize that someone was creating the moving shadows they had previously thought was reality. And soon after, they leave the cave and are able to experience all that nature has to offer.

I think this story is phenomenal. It makes me think of my cave and my puppet masters. My parents and my environment are my puppet masters and have created my reality. I have learned in my childhood that an education, a job and family are all of extremely high importance. And if I have these things, I should be happy. Society in middle class America has also taught me that the self is very important, success is the goal, money buys everything, sex is great, popularity helps and an athletic body is attractive.

But what is reality? What is created by the puppet master and what is real? Yes, it is human nature to place value on societal values because we are social creatures and we should abide by social rules. But, some people get to a point of being neurotic. There exist people who place enormous value on certain things: appearances, success, name brands, masculinity, boyfriend/girlfriend, family, jobs, education, winning, being better than peers, etc.  Some people get obsessed over appearances and go to the gym 4 hours a day or spend all of their free time shopping for clothes. People get obsessed over what others think about them. People get extremely stressed over test performance or jobs. Students have committed suicide over these issues. These are just illusions created some experiences that these people have had. Does the rest of the world care about the things you care about? Do you actually need XYZ in order to be happy? And if it's something that only a small percentage of the population has, then it's probably unnecessary.

Take a step back and see the puppet masters in your life. What are the shadows and what is nature? What do you believe that other people may not believe? What are illusions and what is reality?

Impermanence

Recently, there has been talk of a "polar vortex." It has snowed almost 60 total inches in Philadelphia this winter and I have been exercising in below zero temperatures all month. But, we all know in just a few more weeks, spring will arrive and we will all be able to enjoy the sunny days outside with nature. Just as all seasons come and go, so will this cold winter.  But just as all seasons come and go, so will stages of our lives.

Just six years ago, I was getting ready for college. Nervous and excited, I daydreamed about class, new friends and thought about all the opportunities.  And during college, I had an absolute blast.  I met so many people and made so many new friends.  I learned how to bachata and performed on a step team. I stressed the f*** out over tests and recruiting. I interned in LA.  I played more Mario Kart than anyone should in a lifetime and participated in a Microsoft Puzzle Challenge. I had too many experiences to list and I'm grateful for all of them.

But more time has passed and I am now in a new part of my life. I have a job now.  And I'm making new friends in a new city.  I'm trying new hobbies and discovering new passions again.

But just as college came and went, so will my 20's.  And just as my 20's will come and go so will my 30's. And my 40's.  And my youth and my metabolism and my healthy complexion and my hair and my health and later my older relatives and my parents and ultimately... my life. Everything will come and go; nothing in this world will linger.  We know that the seasons come and go, and we accept it.  But how many of us linger in the past or reminisce about the good old days? How many of us fear old age or death?

If we can't accept that our past is in the past, we will not be free.  If we can't accept that our childhood or college is over, we will not be free.  If we can't accept that a past relationship is over, we will not be free.  And if we can't accept that our lives are temporary, we will not be free. We will not be free from either cognitive dissonance or constant fear.

Since impermanence is part of our reality, we should learn to accept it and embrace its fleeting nature.

 

Reciprocity

In Robert Cialdini's Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, he argues that reciprocity is one of 6 major factors that influences human behavior.  He says reciprocity is in our nature, and it feels awkward to receive a gift without giving anything back.  It's easier for a salesman to get an invitation into your home if he offers you a small gift.  You're more likely to donate to your alma mater if you feel it greatly contributed to your success.

I've thought about an extension to this idea that reciprocity is not just a side factor in relationships, but that relationships often build on top of reciprocity.  Let's walk through a hypothetical romantic relationship from beginning middle to end from a reciprocity framework.  I believe it applies to friendships and other relationships, but I think results are amplified in romantic relationships.

You try to get a stranger's number or try to buy her a drink.  In both cases, you could be violating social reciprocity.  In one case, you're asking for too much and in the other, you're giving too much. Relationships build off of gradual increase in reciprocity, so maybe first you strike up a conversation, then buy a drink, then get coffee, then get dinner, etc.  It's weird for someone to "try too hard."  And I think it's why there is a 'rule' for a guy to wait 3 days after getting a number to contact a girl, because you don't want to 'seem too desperate' and break the social rules of reciprocity.  

During the relationship, reciprocity is even more important.  If one person is giving too much relative to the other person, the relationship will quickly end.  There's a lot of factors that would sway the definition of "giving too much" such as perception of giving/receiving, resilience of each individual, opportunity cost, etc.  For example, maybe a guy is giving what he thinks is a large amount of his time, and the girl thinks he's not giving enough.  Maybe she's flirting with other guys, but he is in love and cannot end the relationship.  But my main point is that when things FEEL equal, everything seems right and when things FEEL unequal, the relationship becomes shaky.  When both parties think they're spending an appropriate amount of time together, the relationship is great.  When she wants him to meet her parents and he doesn't think that's a good idea, the relationship gets shaky.  Reciprocity.

In friendships, there are far fewer expectations and the amount of giving is usually low.  The results aren't as amplified, but even all the "20 things to do in your 20's" links all over the internet will tell you to cut off friends who are leeches, aka when the relationship is one-way.  Great friendships are ones where you give and receive the most: the ones where you share your deepest feelings or when you make a sacrifice in the other's time of need.  When a friend asks something big of you, its likely to be a turning point in the relationship, for much better or much worse.

Experiments

The other day at work, we talked about the value of experiments.  In the context of poker, if you play the same game, an adaptive player will always win in the long run.  And yes, the long run can be a very long time and perhaps the experiment isn't worth the initial cost, but many times the benefits are enormous.  For example, let's talk about my mom's cooking.  My mom is a great cook and I always love going back home to eat her cooking, but it's likely that she improved to a point and stopped experimenting because her cooking reached a level she is satisfied with.  But if every time she made the same dish, she tried 1-2 new things, the results would be extraordinary.

So the first barrier to running experiments is being narrow-minded to the possibility that a better alternative may exist or not wanting to improve on the current state.  Maybe you've never tried yoga, golf, Indian cuisine, meditation, Brazilian jujitsu, some experimental drug, sex with a (insert adjective here) girl, waking up early, the possibilities are endless.  What if you tried it, and it ends up being a game changer?  In fact, this is where I have trouble and I'm trying to be more open minded about new possibilities.

The second barrier to running successful experiments is the difficulty in determining results.  Say you have trouble sleeping, what can you do?  You might try to relieve stress through a hobby, exercising, removing distractions before bed, or maybe some sleeping aid drug.  But how many data points do you need to determine it's unsuccessful?  How do you determine adverse side affects?  In a game like poker, it might be easier to conduct experiments because of the controlled environment and limited number of decision points.  But in real life, there are so many uncontrolled variables that it can be extremely difficult to evaluate the experiment.  How many times do you try a food before you can determine you do not care for it?  Have you considered acquired tastes?  The costs of trying a new food or restaurant is so low.  But when you find that favorite dish or restaurant, it will continue to blow your mind forever.

Anyways, we're way too young to be stuck with our habits.  Try new things!  The downside is so small, yet the upside is nearly unlimited.

Framing

Framing is the way we look at things.  Having a baby.  It could be "magical," could be mistake, could be simply the further reproduction in the evolution of a species.

I'd like to point out that we frame almost everything in a way that our parents and society have taught us (which makes a lot of sense), BUT that makes us unaware.  I'll give a few examples.  The idea of a birthday wish already assumes we don't have everything we want.  So does the idea of a dream.  The fear of death is ingrained in us as something horrible, but it happens to everyone.  How can it be horrible?  Our society emphasizes the importance of the individual.  And in the grand scheme of things, our only affect on the world is likely to be our children.  Yet we believe that there is nothing more important than the self.  Society emphasizes having a great career.  But there are a lot of careers that manipulate the masses in order to achieve greater profits.  And again, the concept of the self is more important, so we want to make money at the expense of others.

I think about a certain frame a lot.  It's one where you can put a creature in an environment and watch it.  Like if you watched rats or puppies or monkeys in their natural habitats, what happens?  And now,
if you watched a video of yourself, what would you see?  I go to work 5 days a week, and probably spend of my non-work hours alone.  I eat well, exercise from time to time, and I'll see my friends maybe 2 nights a week.  Once a month, I visit my family.

Try this exercise with your own life and someone else's life.  What would life be like as a billionaire? What would life be like as a lunch lady? Or a sweatshop worker, or a prostitute, or a soldier, etc.  Think of how your day to day would change, and how your relationships with other people are different.  Imagine yourself as another person, then think about the community, the country, the human race, then how we fit in this universe.  And on every level, the frame is different.

On the universe level, we are all part of the same flow of events.  We are the product of some series of events that created the Earth, created life, and life has evolved to our current state.  And the universe will continue, we will die, our offspring will evolve and the flow of things continues.  Yet sometimes it seems like we work so hard to go against the flow of things.  Society gives us the impression that we should all want to be rich models with fancy things, but statistically, less than 1% of people can obtain all of these things. And if that's the case, then were we born likely to be depressed.  But from a different frame, aren't we incredibly unlikely to be born?  In which case, we should be born likely to be ecstatic.