Avoiding Stupidity is Easier than Seeking Brilliance
Farnam Street (Shane Parrish) · 2014
"In 'loser's games' (like amateur tennis, and much of ordinary life and investing), success comes mainly from avoiding unforced errors, not from making brilliant plays — Charlie Munger's version: 'trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.'"
The core distinction is between a 'Winner's Game,' where the outcome is determined by the skillful actions of the winner (professional tennis), and a 'Loser's Game,' where the outcome is determined mainly by the mistakes of the loser (amateur tennis, and much of everyday decision-making) — meaning the right strategy depends entirely on which kind of game you're actually playing, not which one you wish you were playing.
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The OODA Loop: How Fighter Pilots Make Fast and Accurate Decisions
"Fast, high-stakes decisions are best made through a repeating four-step loop — Observe, Orient, Decide, Act — where speed and comfort with uncertainty matter more than exhaustive analysis, and where 'orienting' (stripping away your own cultural and cognitive biases) is the decisive, most-overlooked step."