adrock3215 Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 (edited) There is an interesting thread going on at a trading board I visit entitled Ayn Rand and trading... Seems as if Rand (specifically Atlas Shrugged) was a large influence on several of the guys posting there, while other posters did not like her. Many wrong comments posted and many right. So far the thread is 10 pages, but there are a few interesting comments from various posters, including comments on Alan Greenspan, Rand's other works, the current economic situation as predicted in Atlas Shrugged, etc. That's all. Thought that was a bit interesting to see her being discussed on another site I like to visit. Edited January 8, 2009 by adrock3215 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluey Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Interesting. The people who are against Rand for whatever reason (she wrote long books ) sure are serious about it. Lol the guy who compared Objectivism to Scientology ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 It's strange for me to hear about traders who have hard-ons for John Kenneth Galbraith and his ilk. For a profession that requires a solid understanding of economics and the markets, is it just a serious case of compartmentalization, or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrock3215 Posted January 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 (edited) I'd say. More so, it is a serious case of bad philosophy. Many people live a conflicted life, where the work they do is "just what they do to make money and earn a living", despite the fact that it conflicts with their own personal philosophical and moral convictions. One need not be a good economist to be a successful trader or investor. Look at Mr. Buffet. He is a follower of Keynes, yet he has made a fortune in his lifetime from his dealings in the market. Actually, look at Keynes himself. The guy lost and then made a fortune speculating in the foreign exchange market, as well as in commodities. Keynes was a great trader, and yet his economic theory was a conflicting manifestation of his deeply rooted belief that men are stupid and incapable of rational decision making. We don't live in a free market. Therefore, one need not totally understand the economics of free markets in order to succeed in today's financial industry. All that is required is an understanding of a mixed economy. Mr. Buffet quite obviously understands a mixed economy better than most, which gives him his edge. Edited January 8, 2009 by adrock3215 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mammon Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 So many pet peeves in such a little time. I don't understand the "OMG BOOKS R 2 LONG WTF?!" mind set. Like, do people just not read? You probably read a good 1,000 pages of material a month if your at all aware of the world you live in. Plus, it doesn't take long compared to the rest of your life. Get some reading skills people! Also, the "EXTREMES ARE BAD!" rhetoric and that one poster (Thunderdog?) who pretended to be so smart saying it. I've finally found the perfect comeback for that. I'm going to be a "non-extreme practicing" doctor. Imagine that. "Good morning Steve, good news... we cured half of your cancer! But we are going to leave the other half in the body because we don't believe we should go to extremes here." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrolicsomeQuipster Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 (edited) "Good morning Steve, good news... we cured half of your cancer! But we are going to leave the other half in the body because we don't believe we should go to extremes here." Are you mad? Killing tumors is murder! Because of the unknowable nature of our reality they may mutate into something alive! And you cant cant cant be sure that they can not! Neener neener! Edited January 18, 2009 by FrolicsomeQuipster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils_Advocate Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Also, the "EXTREMES ARE BAD!" rhetoric and that one poster (Thunderdog?) who pretended to be so smart saying it. I've found the best responses to that are to attack the person's conception of an extreme. Usually, they've decided extremes are bad because all the extremes throughout history (communism, fascism, nazism,) resulted in millions dead. So you ask them - "Nazism was bad because it was an extreme?" If they're consistent or understand their convictions at all, they'll say "Yes." or "Yes, in part." Then you: "So it wasn't evil because it killed millons of people? It was evil because it was an extreme?" "But it was the extreme nature that killed millions!" "And it had nothing to do with the fact that it was an extremist pro-death philosophy? Even though a philosophy can be pro-peace, it's bad because it was an extreme?" You get what I'm getting at here, right? adrock3215 said: Look at Mr. Buffet. He is a follower of Keynes, yet he has made a fortune in his lifetime from his dealings in the market. Quick question I have relating to this. Does anyone think that a person should be able to find a hero in someone for their career, without taking into the equation their philosophy, and/or politics/economics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott_Connery Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Their philosophy doesn't have to be perfect, but you have to at least consider it. Also, a lot of people have very different implicit philosophies than their explicitly stated ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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