More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places
by Michael Mauboussin

May 2006

Intellectually Intoxicating

A man whom life intoxicates... has no need of wine
-Anais Nin

I came across this book by complete accident, did a double take, and read it cover to cover in less than 24 hours. Mauboussin struck me from the first pages of the first chapter, where he gave his primary sources of inspiration:

Consilience, by Edward O. Wilson. A noted evolutionary biologist's tour de force and grand vision—uniting all knowledge under the banner of science.

Poor Charlie's Almanack, by Charles T. Munger. The collected wisdom of Warren Buffett's lesser known partner—with a heavy focus on latticework, mental models, and the incalculable value of diverse knowledge practically applied.

Complexity, by Mitchell Waldrop. The story of the Santa Fe Institute, a loose alliance of brilliant minds working and playing together in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo mountains—studying complex adaptive systems and encouraging the cross-pollination of traditionally isolated disciplines, from physics to economics to ecology to molecular biology.

This trio hit me over the head like a sledge hammer made of silly putty, because all three books have influenced me profoundly these past few years. I have never met Michael Mauboussin, and only have passing familiarity with his work, but we seem to have hit on similar fascinations (and overlapping mentors).

It is exciting and encouraging, in my view, to see the latticework / mental model meme catching on with the help of books like this one. The idea that knowledge is boring—that learning is drudgery—is a terrible misconception, perpetuated by the narrowcast syllabi and jargon-laden textbooks sucking the life out of students everywhere. Great teachers, and great insights born of combined knowledge, explode the myth that learning has to be impractical or dull.

Works like the ones Mauboussin has drawn from, and the distillations of this new work itself, are quite literally contributing to the intellectual evolution of the species (in my humble opinion). We are realizing, slowly but surely, that rigid hierarchies of thought and the habit of erecting artificial walls between disciplines is, not to put too fine a point on it, dumb. (Or, as Charlie Munger might say, damn dumb.)

Another exhilarating thing about the multidisciplinary perspective is the way new doors of contemplation open for every one that closes. Once one has learned to cross-pollinate effectively, the opportunities for further knowledge expansion are practically infinite. Like scuba diving in a body of clear deep water, the challenge is not one of visibility, but rather of navigating the vast possibilities.

If you are a trader or investor who has experienced `intellectual intoxication' after reading More Than You Know, and find yourself thirsty for more, you could hardly do better than the big three: Consilience, Poor Charlie's Almanack, and Complexity.