读书的终极境界是什么-通过阅读达到财务自由?
大家都知道股神巴菲特,然后他有一个好buddy(学伴)叫查理·芒格,被巴菲特称为比自己还聪明的人。芒格有一本著名的书《穷查理宝典》。从巴菲特的信和芒格的书中不难看出,这些顶级的投资者,会赚钱的人,都很像是哲学家,有一整套的世界观和方法论。
另外一位硅谷的创投大神也是如此。
Naval,是常年活跃在推特上的创投界大神。他投资有推特和优步等多家可以企业,然后自己也是公司创始人和CEO,在硅谷,他以创投界的哲学家著称。
前不久Naval在推特上推出了一些列以how to make money without being lucky《如何不靠运气获得财务自由》的推文,引起了强烈的反响,被翻译成了几十种文字,估计有40%的推特活跃用户看到过。
后来,Naval又推出了一个专题播客,进行了全面的深化和扩展。真探叔我最近刚刚把这个扩展版本翻译成了中文,共计10万字,并制作了一个简单的PDF,现在大家关注我的公众号“雪与炭”就可以领取,限时免费。
在《如何不靠运气获得财务自由》这部心法里面,Naval也提到了阅读和投资哲学的问题,而他自己,其实也近似于一位哲学家。他发这一系列推文,绝不是为了哗众取宠。他对当前的世界和商业运行,有一套系统透彻的独到观点。非常时新,又有远瞻性,还能够落地。
身边总有人说,少看点书,看那么多书有啥用。但我自己知道,其实根本没看进去多少。年岁愈长,读书愈像是行为艺术,也渐渐沦为以买书为能事。只要看了芒格的书和这篇文章,就会知道,论起读书,我们是差得太远,至少我是。而且不是读书无用,是我们读的无用。
今天先跟大家分享其中的16.17两章,是关于阅读和学习的。
16. Read What You Love Until You Love to Read You should be able to pick up any book in the library and read it.
16. 从读你喜欢的书开始,直到你喜欢上阅读。
你应该能够拿起图书馆里的任何一本书,把它读下去。
Read what you love until you love to read
Nivi: Before we go and talk about accountability and leverage and judgment, you’ve got a fewtweets further down the line that I would put in the category of continuouslearning.They’re essentially, “there is no skill called business. Avoid business magazines and business class, study microeconomics, game theory,psychology, persuasion, ethics, mathematics and computers.”There’s one other comment that you made in a Periscope that was,“you should be able to pick up any book in the library and read it.” And thelast tweet in this category was, “reading is faster than listening, doing isfaster than watching.”
Nivi:在我们开始讨论责任感、杠杆和判断力之前,你还发了一些其他的推文,我把它们归入持续学习的范畴。这些推文有,“没有所谓的商业技能。避开商业杂志和商业课程,学习微观经济学、博弈论、心理学、说服学、伦理学、数学和计算机。”还有一条是你在Periscope上做的评论,“你应该能够拿起图书馆里的任何一本书读下去。”最后一条是,“读比听快,做比看快。”
Naval: Yeah,the most important tweet on this, I don’t even have in here unfortunately,which is, the foundation of learning is reading. I don’t know a smart personwho doesn’t read and read all the time.And the problem is, what do I read? How do I read? Because formost people it’s a struggle, it’s a chore. So, the most important thing is justto learn how to educate yourself and the way to educate yourself is to developa love for reading.
Naval:是的,这方面最重要的一条推特,很不巧没有放在这里。那就是,学习的地基是阅读。
我认识的聪明人中,没有一个不爱读书的,而且都是无时无刻在读。问题是读什么、怎么读。对大多数人来说,读书很挣扎,是一件苦差事。所以,最重要的是学会如何自我教育,而方法就是培养对阅读的热爱。
So, the tweet that is left out, the one that I was hinting atis, “read what you love until you love to read.” It’s that simple.Everybody I know who reads a lot loves to read, and they love toread because they read books that they loved. It’s a little bit of a catch-22,but you basically want to start off just reading wherever you are and then keepbuilding up from there until reading becomes a habit. And then eventually, youwill just get bored of the simple stuff.So you may start off reading fiction, then you might graduate toscience fiction, then you may graduate to non-fiction, then you may graduate toscience, or philosophy, or mathematics or whatever it is, but take your naturalpath and just read the things that interest you until you kind of understandthem. And then you’ll naturally move to the next thing and the next thing andthe next thing.
这条推特有点简略,我的意思是,“从读你喜欢的书开始,直到你喜欢上阅读为止。”就是这么简单。我认识的每一个阅读量很大的人都喜欢读书,他们喜欢读书是因为他们读自己喜欢的书。这有点像第二十二条军规,但基本上不管从什么地方开始,你只需要读起来,然后不断积累,直到阅读成为一种习惯。最后,你就会看不下去那些肤浅的东西。
你可能从小说开始,然后科幻,然后非虚构作品,然后可能是科学、哲学、数学或者其他什么学科。你就跟着自己的兴趣,自然而然地一路读下来,读懂了,理解了,就进入下一本,下一个门类。
Read the original scientific books in a field
Now, there is an exception to this, which is where I was hintingwith what things you actually do want to learn, which is, at some point there’stoo much out there to read. Even reading is full of junk.There are actually things you can read, especially early on,that will program your brain a certain way, and then later things that youread, you will decide whether those things are true or false based on theearlier things.
阅读某个领域内的科学原著
今天的情况,有点例外,需要注意。如果你真正想学东西,你要小心选择读物,现在外面能读的东西太多了,也充满了垃圾。事实上,你应该尽量阅读一些早期的书籍,这些东西会以某种方式对你的大脑进行编程。你可以根据这些早期的东西,来判断后面的书籍内容是真还是假。
So, it is important that you read foundational things. Andfoundational things, I would say, are the original books in a given field thatare very scientific in their nature.For example, instead of reading a business book, pick up AdamSmith’s The Wealth of Nations. Instead of reading a book on biology orevolution that’s written today, I would pick up Darwin’s Origin of the Species.Instead of reading a book on biotech right now that may be very advanced, Iwould just pick up The Eighth Day of Creation by Watson and Crick. Instead ofreading advanced books on what cosmology and what Neil Degrasse Tyson andStephen Hawking have been saying, you can pick up Richard Feynman’s Six EasyPieces and start with basic physics.
所以,阅读基础知识是很重要的。我所说的基础性的东西,是本质上很科学的特定领域内的原创书籍。例如,不要读商业书籍,而是直接读亚当·斯密的《国富论》。我不会读一本今天写的关于生物学或进化论的书,而是会选择达尔文的《物种起源》。
我不会读一本近期出的关于生物技术的书,即使它可能很先进,我也宁愿选择华生和克里克的《创造的第八日》。要了解基础物理学,你可以从理查德·费曼的《六篇简单的论文》开始,而不是读宇宙学、或者尼尔·德格拉斯·泰森和斯蒂芬·霍金写的那些高级著作。
Don’t fear any book
If you understand the basics, especially in mathematics andphysics and sciences, then you will not be afraid of any book. All of us havethat memory of when we were sitting in class and we’re learning mathematics,and it was all logical and all made sense until at one point the class movedtoo fast and we fell behind.Then after that we were left memorizing equations, memorizingconcepts without being able to derive them from first principles. And at thatmoment, we’re lost, because unless you’re a professional mathematician, you’renot going to remember those things. All you’re going to remember are thetechniques, the foundations.
不要恐惧任何书
如果你掌握了基础知识,尤其是数学、物理和科学,那么你就不会再害怕任何一本书了。我们所有人都有这样的记忆,当我们坐在教室里上数学课的时候,一切都合乎逻辑,什么都讲得通。直到有一天,教室移动得太快,我们落在了后面。
在那之后,我们就只会背背方程,死记一些概念了,没办法从基本原理推导出它们。在那一刻,我们迷失了。除非你是一个专业的数学家,否则你不会去记那些东西。你要记住的只是技巧和基础。
So, you have to make sure that you’re building on a steel frameof understanding because you’re putting together a foundation for skyscraper,and you’re not just memorizing things because you’re just memorizing thingsyou’re lost. So the foundations are ultra important.And the ultimate, the ultimate is when you walk into a libraryand you look at it up and down and you don’t fear any book. You know that youcan take any book off the shelf, you can read it, you can understand it, youcan absorb what is true, you can reject what is false, and you have a basis foreven working that out that is logical and scientific and not purely just basedon opinions.
你要确保你对世界的理解,建立在一个钢铁的架构上,因为你要在这之上,为一座摩天大楼打造地基。你不能只靠记东西,记东西会让你迷失。所以基础至关重要。
到最后,最终极的状态就是,你走进一个图书馆,上下左右打量,你不会害怕里面的任何一本书。你知道你可以抽出书架上的随便那一本,阅读它,理解它,还能做到去伪存真。因为你已经打好了科学的逻辑的基础,而不是只凭感觉和别人的意见。
The means of learning are abundant, the desire to learn isscarceThe beauty of the internet is the entire library of Alexandriatimes 10 is at your fingertips at all times. It’s not the means of education orthe means of learning are scarce, the means of learning are abundant. It’s thedesire to learn that’s scarce. So, you really have to cultivate the desire.
学习的途径是丰富的,但欲望是稀缺的
互联网的美好之处在于,超过亚历山大图书馆10倍的资源随时触手可及。不是教育和学习的手段稀缺,它们是极大丰富的,缺乏的是学习的欲望。所以,你必须培养这种欲望。
And it’s not even cultivating you’ve to not lose it. Childrenhave a natural curiosity. If you go to a young child who’s first learninglanguage, they’re pretty much always asking: What’s this? What’s that? Why isthis? Who’s that? They’re always asking questions.But one of the problems is that schools and our educationalsystem, and even our way of raising children replaces curiosity withcompliance. And once you replace the curiosity with the compliance, you get anobedient factory worker, but you no longer get a creative thinker. And you needcreativity, you need the ability to feed your own brain to learn whatever youwant.
你甚至都不需要刻意去培养,只要保持不失去就行了。
孩子们有天生的好奇心。如果你去看刚开始学语言的小孩,他们总是问:这是什么?那是什么?这是为什么呢?那是谁?他们问个没完。
问题在于,我们的学校和教育体系,甚至我们自己抚养孩子的方式,都用顺从取代了好奇。一旦你用顺从取代了好奇心,你得到的就是一个按部就班的工厂工人,而不会是一个有创造性的思考者。
你需要创造力,你要有能力去培养自己的大脑,让它去学习任何你想学的东西。
17. The Foundations Are Math and Logic
If you understand mathematics and logic, you have the basis for understanding everything else.
17. 基础的东西就是数学和逻辑
如果你懂数学和逻辑,你就有了理解其他一切事物的基础。
The ultimate foundations are math and logicNaval: Foundationalthings are principles, they’re algorithms, they’re deep seated logicalunderstanding where you can defend it or attack it from any angle. And that’swhy microeconomics is important because macroeconomics is a lot ofmemorization, a lot of macro bullshit.
Naval:基础的东西是原理,是算法,是根深蒂固的逻辑理解力,让你可以从任何角度去做出防守或者发动攻击。这就是为什么微观经济学很重要,因为宏观经济学只是大量的记忆,和大话废话。
As Nassim Taleb says, it is easier to macro bullshit than it isthe micro bullshit. Because macroeconomics is voodoo-complex-science meetspolitics. You can’t find two macroeconomists to agree on anything these days,and different macroeconomists get used by different politicians to peddle theirdifferent pet theories.There are even macroeconomists out there now peddling somethingcalled Modern Monetary Theory which basically says, hey, except for this peskything called inflation, we can just print all the money that we want. Yes,except for this pesky thing called inflation. That’s like saying, except forlimited energy, we can fire rockets off into space all day long.
正如纳西姆•塔勒布所说,宏观上的胡扯比微观上的胡扯更容易。因为宏观经济学是一种类似复杂巫术的学科与政治结合的产物。
今天,你找不到两个在任何事情上意见一致的宏观经济学家。不同的政客也利用不同的宏观经济学家,去兜售他们自己喜欢的理论。现在还有宏观经济学家在吹捧所谓的现代货币理论,他们说,除了烦人的通货膨胀,我们可以为所欲为地印刷货币。
是的,除了讨厌的通货膨胀。这就好像说,除了有限的能量,我们可以整天向太空发射火箭。
It’s just nonsense, but the fact that there are people who have“macroeconomist” in theirtitle and are peddling Modern Monetary Theory just tells you thatmacroeconomics as a so-called science has been corrupted. It’s now a branch ofpolitics.So, you really want to focus on the foundations. The ultimatefoundation are mathematics and logic. If you understand logic and mathematics,then you have the basis for understanding the scientific method. Once youunderstand the scientific method, then you can understand how to separate truthfrom falsehood in other fields and other things that you’re reading.
这其实就是一派胡言。但现实就是如此,有些人挂着宏观经济学家的头衔,到处兜售现代货币理论。这只说明,宏观经济学作为一门所谓的科学已经堕落了,它现在是政治的一个分支。
所以,你要把重点放在基础上,终极的基础就是数学和逻辑。如果你掌握了逻辑和数学,就有了理解科学方法的基础。一旦你掌握了科学方法,你就知道怎么在其他领域或者你读的东西中辨别真伪了。
It’s better to read a great book really slowly than to flythrough a hundred books quicklySo, be very careful about reading other people’s opinions andeven be careful when reading facts because so-called facts are often justopinions with a veneer [of pseudoscience] around them.What you are really looking for are algorithms. What you arereally looking for is understanding. It’s better to go through a book reallyslowly and struggle and stumble and rewind, than it is to fly through itquickly and say, “Well, now I’ve read 20 books, I’ve read 30 books, I’ve read50 books in the field.”It’s like Bruce Lee said, “I don’t fear the man who knows athousand kicks and a thousand punches, I fear the man who’s practiced one punchten thousand times or one kick ten thousand times.” It’s that understandingthat comes through repetition and through usage and through logic andfoundations that really makes you a smart thinker.
慢慢地读一本经典,好过快速翻阅一百本
阅读别人的观点时要非常小心,甚至在阅读事实时也要小心,因为所谓的事实往往是观点伪装的(伪科学)。你真正需要的是算法和理解力。
慢慢地读完一本书,磕磕绊绊,懵懵懂懂,反反复复地读;也胜过飞快地翻完一本书,然后说:“我已经读了20本书了,已经读了30本了,已经在这个领域读了50本了。”
就像李小龙说的,“我不害怕知道一千种腿法和一千种拳法的人,我害怕的是把一拳一腿练习上万次的人。”正是基于对重复、运用、逻辑和基础的理解,让你成为一个有智慧的思考者。
Learn persuasion and programming
Nivi: Tolay a foundation for learning for the rest of your life I think you need twothings, if I was going to try and sum it up. One, practical persuasion and two,you need to go deep in some technical category, whether it’s abstract math, oryou want to read Donald Knuth’s books on algorithms, or you want to readFeynman’s lectures on physics.If you have practical persuasion and a deep understanding ofsome complex topic, I think you’ll have a great foundation for learning for therest of your life.
学习说服力和编程
Nivi:如果让我来总结的话,我认为要为你的余生打下学习的基础,你需要两样东西:第一,有效的说服力,第二,深入了解一些科技范畴的东西,无论是抽象数学,还是唐纳德·努斯关于算法的书,还是费曼关于物理的讲座。如果你有很好的说服力,还对某些复杂的课题有深刻的理解,就为你的余生打下了一个很好的学习基础。
Naval: Yeah. In fact let me expand that a little bit. I would say that the five mostimportant skills are of course, reading, writing, arithmetic, and then asyou’re adding in, persuasion, which is talking. And then finally, I would addcomputer programming just because it’s an applied form of arithmetic that justgets you so much leverage for free in any domain that you operate in.If you’re good with computers, if you’re good at basicmathematics, if you’re good at writing, if you’re good at speaking, and if youlike reading, you’re set for life.
Naval:是的。我想把它再扩展一下。我认为最重要的技能有五项,它们是阅读、写作、算法,还有你说的说服,也就是说话。最后,我要加上计算机编程,因为它是算法的一种应用,可以在你操作的任何领域内,成为免费的强力的杠杆。
如果你擅长计算机,精于基础数学,擅长写作,很会说话,喜欢阅读,你就为人生做好了准备。
感觉有用的老铁可以戳真探叔的公众号领取《如何不靠运气获得财务自由》中英文PDF,全网独家首发。
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