July 17, 2023

Christopher Mayer: How Do You Know? A Guide to Clear Thinking About Wall Street, Investing, and Life & Dear Fellow Time-Binder: Letters on General Semantics

1 hour 12 minutes

Christopher Mayer (Author of 100-Baggers) - How Do You Know? A Guide to Clear Thinking About Wall Street, Investing and Life & Dear Fellow Time-Binder: Letters on General Semantics.

I’m always excited to have Chris on the show, it’s his second appearance, and we had as much fun, if not more, as last time.

Christopher Mayer is the founder of Woodlock House Family Capital and author of several books, including 100 Baggers.

Before starting Woodlock House (which went live in January 2019), Mayer worked with Bonner & Partners and the Bonner family office. He was the editor of Capital & Crisis, published by Agora Financial from 2004-2015. He was a corporate banker from 1994-2004 and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in finance from the University of Maryland. He also has an MBA from the same institution.

He is the author of Invest Like A Dealmaker: Secrets of a Former Banking Insider (2008), World Right Side Up: Investing Across Six Continents (2012), 100 Baggers: Stocks that Return 100-to-1 and How to Find Them (2015) and How Do You Know? A Guide to Thinking Clearly About Wall Street, Investing and Life (2018). Dear Fellow Time-Binder: Letters on General Semantics.

Today we focus on the last two books.

Today:

• We discussed Alfred Korzybski's concept of time-binding and its implications for human learning.

• Chris emphasized understanding the limits of our knowledge as a form of wisdom.

• We explored tools for effective transmission and retention of knowledge.

• Chris talked about oversimplifying cause and effect and our tendency to use abstractions.

• We discussed the idea of structural differential and its importance in interpreting reality.

• Chris shared his perspective on how labels can influence investing decisions.

• We delved into the differences between facts and inferences.

• We discussed thought-provoking ideas like 1+1 not always equalling 2 and the possibility of rewriting history.

• Chris introduced the concept of delayed reaction.

• We discussed the need for a nuanced view of the world, moving beyond binary perspectives taught in school.

• We talked about the binary view of success and failure, advocating for a more nuanced perspective.

• We discussed misguided certainty and the problems it can cause.

• Chris proposed Wendell Johnson's set of questions as a starting point for those new to semantics.

• We left the best for last, and concluded by discussing the illusion of contentment tied to wealth accumulation

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By Bogumil Baranowski

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