A compilation of ideas and topics that inform our thinking and influence our worldview
Ethiopian Kids Hack Android
May 15, 2013
One Laptop per Child is trying a new strategy to reach some of the 100 million first-grade-aged children worldwide who have no access to schooling. The organization is experimenting by simply dropping off tablet computers with preloaded programs in two remote Ethiopian villages to see if children will figure out how to use them to teach themselves.
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Obscuring Pension Reality
May 14, 2013
When evaluating business managers, we applaud those who make conservative accounting assumptions. While this story focuses on a public instead of a private entity, it is a useful illustration of how a lack of conservatism in key assumptions can mask underlying economic realities that have a big impact on an enterprise’s financial health.
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5G in 2020
May 13, 2013
If this proves achievable, all of the ideas about the "last mile" will disappear in the next ten years.
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Google Subscriptions for You Tube
May 11, 2013
YouTube is taking a logical next step to build its revenue base by distributing more professional programming to its huge audience. It isn’t clear how successful this type of original content will be with viewers, but thanks to YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc. it seems evident that video programming will continue to fragment in the near and intermediate-term.
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The Anti-Hot Hand
May 10, 2013
A variety of historically studies have tried to determine if there is statistical evidence of a ‘hot hand’ in sports. Some findings suggest no and others yes (at least over a multi-game period), but a recent study added a new wrinkle. The result is a psychological misjudgment - overconfidence.
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Building a Better Kilogram
May 9, 2013
The exact weight of a kilogram is currently standardized using a hunk of platinum-iridium alloy, which is about the size of a golf ball and sits in a vault in Paris. The kilogram is the last fundamental unit of measure defined by a physical object, so scientists are working to express it in a way that does not deteriorate.
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Equity Returns Since 1900
April 30, 2013
In our recently-circulated first quarter 2013 letter, we discussed the long-term minimum expected returns that people require to forego current consumption for future consumption (i.e. a baseline real interest rate). Based on a number of previous studies, we estimated this return to be 3-4%, which serves as a building block in our minimum hurdle rate for equity investments. This blog entry offers more data from the period 1900 through 2011.
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Disruption in Higher Education
April 29, 2013
Dr. Clayton Christensen, professor at Harvard Business School and author of The Innovator's Dilemma, discusses disrupting innovation in education.
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Clearing the FOG
April 28, 2013
‘People’ is one of our four core investing criteria, and we prize managers who clearly and openly communicate about both the opportunities and challenges facing their businesses. A willingness to be candid and a commitment to discuss successes and failures are strong indications that an executive will treat his shareholders as partners.
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Einstein’s Theory of Relativity Holds Strong
April 27, 2013
If a theory is actually true instead of convenient, it explains events in the limits. Using a pair of massive stars that are orbiting one another as an extreme case study of gravity, a group of scientists have found that Einstein's theory of relativity holds up even in these intense conditions.
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Western Europeans Head East for Work
April 25, 2013
As Western European economies struggle to grow and contend with crippling (and still rising) unemployment levels, workers are heading east to countries like Poland. Eastern Europe is certainly not without its challenges, but it is generally unburdened by the pension and welfare regimes that are contributing to the economic woes in Western Europe.
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Where is China’s Debt?
April 18, 2013
A senior accounting and finance official in China is sounding the alarm on what he perceives to be a toxic combination of unsustainable debt levels and heightening refinancing risk for local authorities. Access to easy credit for these municipal-equivalent governments has led to widespread misallocation of capital all over the country.
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Running on a Treadmill
April 15, 2013
5G spectrum auctions in Britain remind us why the wireless communications business looks like the textile industry in which Berkshire Hathaway participated - a never ending stream of forced capital expenditures leave the producers in the same competitive position while virtually all of the benefits accrue to the consumer.
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Mental Clarity
April 12, 2013
To achieve a more holistic understanding of the brain, scientists have developed an approach that provides a clearer view of the interconnected network and structures in the organ.
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A Qualitative View of Risk Management
April 11, 2013
It is enticing to attempt to distill risk down to easily consumable metrics, but a strong culture is by far the most important ingredient for effective risk management and compliance.
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Medicine Hitches a Ride
April 9, 2013
A non-profit has created a simple, elegant solution to distribute medicine in Africa by leveraging Coca-Cola’s massive distribution network.
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