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> Similarly Hugh Hefner has lived a more fulfilling life than Charlie Munger. How could you possibly know that?

adventured 5y ago
They can't at all. They're projecting a strictly personal opinion based on their own value system and very distant perception of such disparate figures as Sinatra, Rockefeller, Munger and Hefner, which is rather spectacularly comical. Sinatra had severe problems with not being happy and was frequently suicidal for example: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/8-things-you-didnt-know-about-frank-sinatra https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/8-things-you-didnt-know-... I'm sure a lot of people incorrectly perceived, at a great distance, that Robin Williams was consistently an exceptionally happy person also (based on his outward jovial disposition and the common reaction to his death by the public).
- GDC7 5y ago
  It's not about value systems, it's about rumination vs. non-rumination. Sinatra and Hefner simply believed in their own mind that they were special and acted on it, whereas people like Munger , they ruminate for hours on end thinking about whether CPI would come out at 2.7% or 2.5% while already sitting on 5 billion dollars. Also constantly pricing the odds of every move and generally thinking about stuff too much instead of acting and let the chips fall where they may.
  - aerosmile 5y ago
    We get your point, but at least two of us are not buying it. Happiness is a much more complex system than something that's directly and exclusively controlled by impulsiveness.
  - pjlegato 5y ago
    It is clear that Munger and Buffett have a vastly different value system than you -- one where rumination makes them happy. They could easily be living in giant mansions in Monaco, feasting on gourmet food cooked by personal private chefs every day, on superyachts in the Seychelles, or any other lavish-wealth scenario you'd care to name. But they don't. They work in a modest office in Omaha, and eat McDonald's and drink Coke for lunch. Why would they do that, when they have so many other options? Because they like it. Their value system is different than yours. They enjoy their relatively modest middle class lifestyles, believe it or not. If they didn't, if they weren't happy, they could make a few phone calls and be on a private jet to the other side of the planet within an hour. But they don't do that, because they value that less than what they're doing now. They're happy ruminating on minute differences in CPI figures while eating an Egg McMuffin for breakfast.
    - GDC7 5y ago
      > Why would they do that, when they have so many other options? Because they like it I don't think it's because of that. I think it's because they have internalized the concept of global competition being a zero-sum game and can't let go of it because 100B is still nothing compared to the total size of the pie. Sinatra instead didn't internalize anything, did deals with Mafia families, acted recklessly and yet he managed to shut down Las Vegas lights in 1999 when he passed and will be remembered long after Buffett is forgotten. Acting impulsively + luck beats rumination every day. It's not even a contest.
  - danielmarkbruce 5y ago
    "Ruminating" is generally defined as thinking a lot about bad/negative things from the past. Anyone who has paid any attention to Buffett or Munger will tell you there is no indication they do anything like "ruminate". They appear to think a lot and analyze things, but it's almost all forward looking. And they seem to be very happy. Munger even had a small child die of cancer and said something to the effect of "at some point you just have to dust yourself off and keep moving forward".

They can't at all. They're projecting a strictly personal opinion based on their own value system and very distant perception of such disparate figures as Sinatra, Rockefeller, Munger and Hefner, which is rather spectacularly comical. Sinatra had severe problems with not being happy and was frequently suicidal for example: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/8-things-you-didnt-know-about-frank-sinatra https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/8-things-you-didnt-know-... I'm sure a lot of people incorrectly perceived, at a great distance, that Robin Williams was consistently an exceptionally happy person also (based on his outward jovial disposition and the common reaction to his death by the public).

GDC7 5y ago
It's not about value systems, it's about rumination vs. non-rumination. Sinatra and Hefner simply believed in their own mind that they were special and acted on it, whereas people like Munger , they ruminate for hours on end thinking about whether CPI would come out at 2.7% or 2.5% while already sitting on 5 billion dollars. Also constantly pricing the odds of every move and generally thinking about stuff too much instead of acting and let the chips fall where they may.
- aerosmile 5y ago
  We get your point, but at least two of us are not buying it. Happiness is a much more complex system than something that's directly and exclusively controlled by impulsiveness.
- pjlegato 5y ago
  It is clear that Munger and Buffett have a vastly different value system than you -- one where rumination makes them happy. They could easily be living in giant mansions in Monaco, feasting on gourmet food cooked by personal private chefs every day, on superyachts in the Seychelles, or any other lavish-wealth scenario you'd care to name. But they don't. They work in a modest office in Omaha, and eat McDonald's and drink Coke for lunch. Why would they do that, when they have so many other options? Because they like it. Their value system is different than yours. They enjoy their relatively modest middle class lifestyles, believe it or not. If they didn't, if they weren't happy, they could make a few phone calls and be on a private jet to the other side of the planet within an hour. But they don't do that, because they value that less than what they're doing now. They're happy ruminating on minute differences in CPI figures while eating an Egg McMuffin for breakfast.
  - GDC7 5y ago
    > Why would they do that, when they have so many other options? Because they like it I don't think it's because of that. I think it's because they have internalized the concept of global competition being a zero-sum game and can't let go of it because 100B is still nothing compared to the total size of the pie. Sinatra instead didn't internalize anything, did deals with Mafia families, acted recklessly and yet he managed to shut down Las Vegas lights in 1999 when he passed and will be remembered long after Buffett is forgotten. Acting impulsively + luck beats rumination every day. It's not even a contest.
- danielmarkbruce 5y ago
  "Ruminating" is generally defined as thinking a lot about bad/negative things from the past. Anyone who has paid any attention to Buffett or Munger will tell you there is no indication they do anything like "ruminate". They appear to think a lot and analyze things, but it's almost all forward looking. And they seem to be very happy. Munger even had a small child die of cancer and said something to the effect of "at some point you just have to dust yourself off and keep moving forward".