Author: smartistone

Stocks vs. Real Estate Debate, Part 3 (answering objections)

It’s amazing how much discussion there is about personal finance…a thread about finance on Reddit’s Slate Star Codex thread got over 80 replies. In parts 1 & 2, I make an argument for owning real estate over stocks. I assume that someone, hypothetically, has a sum of money saved up (such as $40,000) or as… Continue reading Stocks vs. Real Estate Debate, Part 3 (answering objections)

Malcom Gladwell: poster child of mediocrity

Malcom Gladwell interviewed by Tyler Cowen of the Mercatus Center, appropriately titled Malcolm Gladwell Wants to Make the World Safe for Mediocrity Gladwell says: So, if your problem is that you’re facing a series of stereotypes about how you are intellectually inferior, how you have a broken culture, how you have . . . I… Continue reading Malcom Gladwell: poster child of mediocrity

Jordan Peterson Discusses IQ

Jordan Peterson over past year has become something of a internet phenomena and celebrity, his videos watched by hundreds of thousands of fans and have thousands of up-votes and positive comments. He also has some interesting videos about IQ. The first video is spot-on: Politicians, both for the ‘left’ and the ‘right’, in terms of… Continue reading Jordan Peterson Discusses IQ

Shared Experiences

From the study of ‘intellectualism culture’, which is a branch of ‘social theory’, arises the concept of ‘shared narratives’, discussed on this blog many times already. Shared narratives are beliefs, areas of inquiry, and values held by–and unique to–high-IQ people that bring such individuals together regardless of political or socioeconomic backgrounds. But then there are… Continue reading Shared Experiences

SJW/liberal Cathedral vs. Tehnocommercialism Cathedral

Perhaps there are two ‘cathedrals’–the SJW/liberal one, which we are all familiar with, and a technocommercialist one (Nick Land alluded to something similar year ago, but I don’t remember the post), and the two are at odds with each other. Technocommercialism seeks to secede from the former, a process some call ‘exit’. The latter is… Continue reading SJW/liberal Cathedral vs. Tehnocommercialism Cathedral

Real Estate vs. Stocks, Part 2 (why homes win, and why rent sucks)

As discussed in Part 2, in recent years, there has been a ton of interest online in finance. Everyone, but especially millennials, want to know how to make more money quickly, whether to rent or buy a home, who to save for retirement and how much you need to retire, index funds vs. individual stocks,… Continue reading Real Estate vs. Stocks, Part 2 (why homes win, and why rent sucks)

Josh Barro’s Bad Day

It’s war: EXCLUSIVE – Michael Savage Following Alleged Assault: ‘It Is Clearly Open Season on Prominent Trump Supporters’ The left was correct in 2016 when they predicted that if Trump won there would racism and violence–only it is against Trump supporters, but that doesn’t count as violence…those Trump supporters ‘deserve it’, according to the far-left’s… Continue reading Josh Barro’s Bad Day

Why Gold Fails as a Hedge Against Inflation (and when it works)

In the aftermath of Trump’s win, something that wasn’t supposed to happen, happened. Inflation expectations surged, but gold got clobbered: The GLD fund, a proxy for gold, fell 8% (from $125 to $115) in the days immediately following Trump’s victory, and then it fell another $7 in December: Inflation expectations, however, surged as shown by… Continue reading Why Gold Fails as a Hedge Against Inflation (and when it works)