This post's headline is a paraphrase of a wonderful piece by investor Mason Myers. Here's his opening line verbatim: "When two great thinkers come to a similar idea from different starting points and careers, I pay attention."
Obviously, I agree. This blog is founded because two guys with very different starting points and careers came up with strikingly similar ideas.
CrossFit founder Greg Glassman thought that the fitness industry was failing people by being too specialized. He came up with an idea that would develop greater general physical preparedness. Berkshire Hathaway partner Charlie Munger, similarly, had previously come to the conclusion that the way people had learned (and were taught) to think was too narrow and too specialized. He came up with an idea that would combat what he saw as the 'fatal disconnectedness' of academic training: a acquiring a latticework of mental models. Munger's aim is cognitive, rather than physical, fitness. But the ideas are virtually identical.
"For Munger, his ideas of “worldly wisdom” have been circulated from talks he gave in the 1990′s. The idea is that a wise person needs a “latticework of mental models” rather than the ability to crunch numbers in his head or regurgitate facts. He explains that multiple models are better (shades of Christensen emphasizing a collection of frameworks rather than the singular focus of some academics), the models should be cross-disciplinary, and the best people can figure out which models are relevant to which situation."
Those at all interested in Munger need to read the full piece; it's one of the best, most useful things I've ever read on Munger.
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| Investor Mason Myers |
Obviously, I agree. This blog is founded because two guys with very different starting points and careers came up with strikingly similar ideas.
CrossFit founder Greg Glassman thought that the fitness industry was failing people by being too specialized. He came up with an idea that would develop greater general physical preparedness. Berkshire Hathaway partner Charlie Munger, similarly, had previously come to the conclusion that the way people had learned (and were taught) to think was too narrow and too specialized. He came up with an idea that would combat what he saw as the 'fatal disconnectedness' of academic training: a acquiring a latticework of mental models. Munger's aim is cognitive, rather than physical, fitness. But the ideas are virtually identical.
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| Charles T. Munger Sr. |
Myers has identified similarities that Munger's approach shares with another thinker and businessman: Clayton Christensen. This Harvard professor's ideas illuminate how to use Munger's approach, and signal how one can become adept at recognizing when and how to apply the various models Munger thinks are important.
Myers' piece is a must read in full for anyone interested in putting Munger's ideas into practice. But here's a snapshot of his argument:
"When I took Christensen’s class in 2001 or 2002, I remember being handed
at the beginning of class a couple of summary papers with maybe 15-20
different hieroglyphic-like symbols representing different theories and
models that are “true” in some circumstances."
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| Clayton Christensen. Famous, among other things, for being Mason Myers' teacher at Harvard. |
"For Munger, his ideas of “worldly wisdom” have been circulated from talks he gave in the 1990′s. The idea is that a wise person needs a “latticework of mental models” rather than the ability to crunch numbers in his head or regurgitate facts. He explains that multiple models are better (shades of Christensen emphasizing a collection of frameworks rather than the singular focus of some academics), the models should be cross-disciplinary, and the best people can figure out which models are relevant to which situation."
Those at all interested in Munger need to read the full piece; it's one of the best, most useful things I've ever read on Munger.
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