604 Ed Thorp, The Man for All Markets — How to Think for Yourself, A Real Estate Cautionary Tale, Hedge Fund History and Warnings and More

This is a OPEN AI summary of the Tim Ferriss Podcast #604- visit www.TinyTim.blog for more AI summaries, or www.Tim.blog for the official Tim Ferriss Podcasts.

In this conversation, Tim Ferriss interviews Edward O. Thorp about short-term vs. long-term thinking. Thorp gives the example of a friend who wanted to sell his house in the early 1990s but held out for a higher price, only to eventually sell it for less than what he could have gotten at the time. Thorp attributes this poor decision-making to a focus on the immediate surroundings and lack of consideration for long-term implications. Thorp also discusses the importance of understanding statistics and elementary mathematics. He recommends the book "Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre to learn more about separating absolute and relative risk. Thorp discusses two things that can be helpful for college students: (1) using simple college outline books to learn the basics of a subject, and (2) practicing mental calculations so that you can do them quickly in your head.

This clip discusses how to best make investment decisions with a long-term perspective. Edward O. Thorp advises that individuals must be prepared to ride out the ups and downs of the market, and notes that this is only possible for those who have enough capital to weather a market crash. Thorp also observes that many people are forced to make poor investment choices because they lack the resources to weather a down market.

In a conversation between two people, one suggests investing a large sum of money for the long term, and the other asks how many years that would be. The first person says that it depends on when the money is needed, and if it's not needed to pay bills, then it can be invested for a very long time. In order to become a long-term investor in something risky, one must have enough capital to comfortably live off of. This is known as the lifetime consumption problem, and it is a difficult trade-off to make. However, if one is able to get ahead enough to have a cushion of capital, then the problem becomes much less of an issue.

In this conversation, Tim Ferriss interviews Edward O. Thorp about health and fitness. Thorp talks about the importance of recording one's weight, something he has done himself, in order to lose weight effectively. In order to control his weight, Edward O. Thorp uses two feedback mechanisms: observing what he weighs each morning, and checking for a pot belly. He recommends that other people develop their own feedback mechanisms, based on measurement rather than hope. Thorp also mentions that listening to music and taking walks are two things that help him relax.

In this interview, Edward O. Thorp discusses his views on risk and how he has adapted his behavior to avoid potential dangers. He describes an experiment he conducted to test whether people can accurately guess his age, and notes that inner-directed people are more likely to think for themselves and make their own decisions.

In "The Lonely Crowd," Edward O. Thorp argues that people who are other-directed (i.e., who take their cues about how to behave from the crowd) are at a disadvantage because they lack a clear sense of direction. In this conversation, Thorp and Tim Ferriss discuss ways to improve one's appearance as they age. Thorp mentions that he has been taking the drug Finasteride for 20 years to help with hair growth. Ferriss notes that while his father and mother are not bald, he himself is starting to lose his hair. In this conversation, Edward O. Thorp discusses the concept of "scrap time" - using spare moments to be productive instead of wasting them. He recommends using scrap time to do things like learning a new skill or reading, in order to make the most of every opportunity. In this excerpt, Tim Ferriss and Edward O. Thorp discuss the advantages of using scrap time to one's advantage. Thorp argues that by using scrap time wisely, one can increase their productivity and improve their health. Ferriss adds that using scrap time can also help reduce stress levels. Edward O. Thorp discusses how his thinking and priorities changed after the age of 50, when he started running marathons. He learned that life is a lot like running a marathon, and that if you plan ahead, you can avoid a lot of problems. Edward O. Thorp believes that it is important for people to think about the world and society as "us" instead of "me," and to try to act accordingly.

This interview between Edward O. Thorp and Tim Ferriss covers a range of topics related to probability, statistics, and math. Thorp shares his insights on a variety of topics, including how to become more inner-directed and how to think long-term. Ferriss also announces that he will be creating a resource page on his blog with links to all of the books and concepts discussed in the interview.

604 https://tim.blog/2022/06/28/edward-o-thorp-2/