How could economics not be behavioral? If it isn't behavioral, what the hell is it?
Charlie MungerRead
Gold is a great thing to sew into your garments if you're a Jewish family in Vienna in 1939, but I think civilized people don't buy gold, they invest in productive businesses.
Interpretation
Investing in productive businesses is more valuable than hoarding wealth in gold.
Charlie Munger's quote underscores the idea that true value lies in investing in ventures that create goods and services rather than accumulating precious metals. This perspective reflects a belief in the importance of productive investments and economic participation over merely safeguarding wealth through tangible assets that may not yield future returns.
In practice
In a financial seminar discussing wealth management, this quote can highlight the importance of investing wisely.
How could economics not be behavioral? If it isn't behavioral, what the hell is it?
The world of derivatives is full of holes that very few people are really aware of. It's like hydrogen and oxygen sitting on the corner waiting for a little flame.
I believe in the discipline of mastering the best that other people have ever figured out. I don't believe in just sitting down and trying to dream it all up yourself. Nobody's that smart.
Economics is in many respects the queen of the soft sciences. It's expected to be better than the rest. It's my view that economics is better at the multi-disciplinary stuff than the rest of the soft science. And it's also my view that it's still lousy.
Look at this generation, with all of its electronic devices and multitasking. I will confidently predict less success than Warren, who just focused on reading.
Economics profession, they've been - they've been confident in various formulas, but economics is not physics. The same formula that works in one decade doesn't work in the next. Economics is a difficult subject.
Because, as we all know, it’s easier to do trivial things that are urgent than it is to do important things that are not urgent, like thinking. And it’s also easier to do little things we know we can do than to start on big things that we’re not so sure about.
Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other, and scarce in that; for it is true we may give advice, but we cannot give conduct.
We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it?
Perspective is worth 80 IQ points.
Every man is eloquent once in his life.
When forced to choose, I will not trade even a night's sleep for the chance of extra profits.
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