Rodent Regatta

I’ve already listed two books that were mentioned at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting on Saturday. A long-time crony of mine just told me that Mr. Buffett also suggested a book titled A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

During the course of the Q&A time, he also recommended an article, The St. Petersburg Paradox and the Crash of High-Tech Stocks in 2000. It was written by Gabor J. Szekely and Donald St. P. Richards. This one is based upon work done in the 1700’s by Nicolaus Bernoulli, the one who formulated the St. Petersburg Paradox.

If you make decisions about investing that don’t include Maria or James, and you’re not afraid of a little theoretical math, the article will interest you.

There’s another quote worth posting here as well. When asked about ”how to achieve success in life,” Charlie Munger fielded the question:

”Avoid doing really dumb things. Avoid racing trains. Avoid cocaine. Avoid situations where you can get aids. It’s fairly obvious isn’t it? Avoid evil and disingenuous people especially of the opposite sex. (Huge laughs) If this gives you unpopularity with your peer group. . . (pause for effect)...To hell with em.

Charles Munger
Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting
May 1, 2004