Most People Knew Him As Warren Buffet’s Lifelong Friend, But I Knew Him As The Guru Who Taught Me How To Think

And he was the most iconic bullshit detector besides Taleb’s

I had just finished watching Marco Polo on Netflix.

Highly recommended series, for those who have never watched it. If you prefer epic series to modern, suited ones, Marco Polo will not disappoint.

The main character, by far, did not impress me as much as one particular individual — Hundred Eyes.

Hundred Eyes was a master of martial arts. He could switch from one technique to another. From the dancing cobra to the praying mantis.

But if that was not impressive, consider this — he was blind.

The name says it all.

Despite being blind, his senses were acute, and ready for combat if needed. I was so impressed by his skill set, that by the time I was done with the series, I had to call myself to a meeting.

Hundred Eyes needed no introduction. His skills did the speaking. He was also so good, that he needn’t show it.

He had perfected his craft so well that it became an extension of himself, despite his physical constraints.

I wanted that.

So I asked myself what good thing can I be good at? So good that I can do it for as long and independently as Hundred Eyes did with his skills. That’s when I settled on a single one.

Reading.

How naïve, huh?

Anyway, I choose reading.

I wanted to be so good at reading, that I’d digest content and understand concepts after a few brushes of a book.

Make no mistake, I used to read from when I was small. My mother would insist on various books, but I read because I wanted to be like Matilda, the precocious child who got superpowers from reading.

What began with the intention of getting superhuman abilities became a deep longing I have never satisfied. The more I read, the more I want to read.

After watching Marco Polo, I decided to read. That’s how I discovered Farnam Street (Shane Parrish).

Farnam Street then introduced me to Charlie Munger.

Latticework of Mental Models

It was around August after I was done with my second year of medical school when I made this decision.

To be as good at reading as Hundred Eyes. Boy was I naïve. Unless someone out there has achieved this feat, then you can please send me a note. I’d be willing to be your student.

Anyway, I discovered Farnam Street.

I’ve watched it grow and evolve from when it had white and yellow backgrounds to its present maroon and white layout.

What I loved most was its idea of mental models.

It had divided it into academic disciplines. So I could easily see that diminishing returns was economics and probability was mathematics.

Nowadays, their lattice has changed into a utility-based outline. If you want to think using numbers, you’d consider the numeracy list of models. If you wanted to think about complex entities, you’d consider systems thinking models.

A latticework of mental models was a concept Charlie Munger loved so much. He emphasized that if one does not have a latticework from where to hang their knowledge, then it’s pointless to continue learning. How else would you access your nuggets if you had no place to store them?

It made sense.

So I started gathering my list of mental models.

I used Farnam Street as a guide.

The results were almost instantaneous. After having a list of models to run through, check-list style, just like Munger recommended, I realized just how rash I have always been.

A latticework opens you up to complexity. And it simplifies perspectives in equal strength. Charlie Munger taught me that.

He also emphasized how to use mental models like a child. To think of it like play.

Over the years, I accumulated so many mental models and found it tiresome going through all of them just so I could decide on a difficult issue. At times, I’d stretch something simple through several models only to get tired of the idea midway.

But one set of models always grounded me back. It’s tied to a speech Munger made about psychology.

I have never met any transcript with as much value about human psychology as that. What’s more, he breaks it down into easy-to-remember concepts.

Wondering why everyone is buying Samsung and Apple devices? Social-proof tendency.

Wondering how you ended up an alcoholic when you only started by taking small sips? Contrast-miscalculation tendency.

Want to know why Alcoholics Anonymous works so well? Several tendencies which link up to form the lollapalooza effect are at work.

Munger taught me this.

If I wanted to remember how much fun it is deconstructing concepts using mental models, I’d come back to this group of models. I call them my psychology models.

I have read that transcript so many times, I know the stories off head.

Munger was not just a voracious reader. He was an excellent teacher.

His teachings, at times, might have been obscure but I had a feeling that he would do it with purpose.

Only if you’re interested in unpacking the nugget behind his obscure ideas would you pursue it. So only the ones interested in wisdom would crack it open.

Worldly wisdom, as he would say. It’s pointless to change the world. Learn how it works and use it to your advantage.

I got that from him.

It has served me a lot. It continues to do so.

I now use only a group of handy models, much like Fisher who had a group of starter moves when playing chess. Once you become so good at using a small set of ideas, you develop an edge most will never have.

He introduced me to the three books which I will forever recommend

I don’t think I would have accumulated the library of books on my laptop if it were not for Munger.

His first three books were:

1. Influence — the Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

2. Living within Limits by Garrett Hardin

3. Deep Simplicity by John Gribbin.

I will continue to recommend these books for as long as I live.

The first one is for those who might not be into science that much but want to understand crowds and the power of persuasion. You can conduct social experiments once you understand Cialdini’s six click-whrrr levers.

The second one is for those who might be interested in biological sciences. It is also a warning about unchecked living. I remember recommending it to a close friend, Aditi Vakil, and how she never looked at public health the same. She began to question so much. I was delighted with that. One person had been influenced.

The third and final one is for science and complexity lovers. I loved this book so much, so, so much. My journey in understanding self-organization started with this book. I then learnt about Turing’s phenomenon, responsible for understanding forms in the human body. The same concept would then be pivotal in shaping my theory of evolution.

These three books changed my life. Like Matilda, they gave me superpowers to destroy the villains thriving in the deep recesses of my stupidity.

Indirectly, Charlie Munger influenced me into the path that led to my theory of evolution.

He taught me the value of investing

Charlie Munger was not just a voracious reader.

He was a stinking rich voracious reader.

He made money with as much energy as he read books. It was his unique mind that endeared him to Warren Buffet, arguably the most prolific investor of all time.

Warren is the chairperson and Munger was the vice chairperson.

If Warren thought about an idea, he would share it with Munger. Munger would then deconstruct it without shame and show just how foolish the idea was.

If Buffer still hung onto the idea, willing to invest in it, Munger would later ask Buffet for a percentage of the same investment. That was their relationship.

One of construction and deconstruction.

Munger was the reality check. Buffet was the aspiration. Name me a better duo.

The biggest lesson I learnt from the two was sticking with what you know. Jay Z has made a tonne of money by sticking with what he knew. Not investing in concepts he found were flashy and ‘promising’.

Then sticking with it for the long haul.

It’s what I’ve done with my project, The One Alternative Academy. It’s here to stay. I’ll continue being a part of it even when I’m gone.

My thinking has always been to pursue long-haul projects because of Charlie Munger. That’s how I make most of my decisions.

Should I play basketball at the pro level? NO. It showed little promise of ever going to the NBA. Also, it was short-term thinking.

Should I teach? YES! I can do it until I die, and I get to learn along the way. Which means I’ll learn until I die. Teaching and learning. Another powerful duo. Long-term thinking.

And finally, we come back to my fascination with Hundred Eyes — mastering a craft. For me, it was reading. So, should I continue reading?

You know the answer.

And I can do it for the long haul.

Munger was my equivalent of Hundred Eyes. He was reading so much, and had a deep understanding of so many things, I could not equate him with no other person.

Munger was the Hundred Eyes of Reading.

Now he’s no more

I remember reading the tweet from Nassim Taleb.

I couldn’t believe it. I had just sat down to share my recent post, only to see the other icon I revere mentioning the passing of one of the last authentics, Charlie Munger.

How authentic will I be if I emulate my equivalent of Hundred Eyes?

The shoes are too big to fill.

At the same time, if I ever stood a chance of seeing far, it would be because I stood on the shoulder of this giant.

Many knew him as Warren Buffet’s lifelong friend, but I knew him as the guru who taught me how to think.

PS: My lifelong project is to learn. The best way to learn is to teach. I therefore started my virtual school, The One Alternative Academy. It’s an alternative way of learning, distant from how schools do it. No tests, no grades, no diplomas. You can start enrolling for courses now.