Links to Some Philosophical Material Used in my First Lecture in BFBV this Year

  1. “What’s Your Number” Scene from Wall Street
  2. The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman
  3. Steve Crider’s Story About A Contented, Happy Employee
  4. Ben Franklin’s “The Whistle”
  5. The Marshmallow Experiment
  6. Another one on The Marshmallow Experiment
  7. Seneca on The Shortness of Life
  8. The Story of the Chinese Farmer

10 thoughts on “Links to Some Philosophical Material Used in my First Lecture in BFBV this Year”

  1. Dear sir, thanks for your insightful links.
    Just one small query in regard to this story “The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman”- we have heard this parable in many forms, and I do know there is a fallacy in this argument someplace, but I am unable to pin point it exactly.
    Could you kindly share your thoughts?

  2. In the whistle story… Franklin says mindless pursuit of any thing is not worth the whistle… Can equate mindless pursuit with obsession.. In that case what’s the thin line that separates obsession and with the whistle

    1. The insight is that people in the investment community are often too judgmental about developments. They forget the Pari-mutuel nature of markets where the behaviour of others changes the odds. They indulge in first level thinking and don’t pause, reflect and ask questions like “and then what?” If the development is unfavourable, the pain avoidance mechanisms in their brains make them run away from a situation which is getting even more attractive because others are running away.

  3. Sir,
    Regarding, “No.5 The Marshmallow Experiment”, the video is not complete. It ends abruptly. Here is the link to the complete video. Hope you can use it in your future classes.

    Thanks for being who you are,
    Aravind K M.

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