The One Percent Almanack

Wit and Wisdom on Investing, Business, and Life

Vishal Khandelwal

Spotlight: 20 Ideas to Make 2020 a Life Changing Year – Part 1

On December 31st, as I was scrolling through the new year’s wishes, a particular message caught my eye. It was from my favourite writer Derek Sivers. He has a way of adding jolting perspectives to mundane things. He wrote —

A new day begins when I wake up, not at midnight. Midnight means nothing to me. It’s not a turning point. Nothing changes at that moment. A new year begins when there’s a memorable change in my life. Not January 1st. Nothing changes on January 1st.

Your year really begins when you move to a new home, start school, quit a job, have a big breakup, have a baby, quit a bad habit, start a new project, or whatever else. Those are the real memorable turning points — where one day is very different than the day before. Those are the meaningful markers of time. Those are your real new years.

[Read more…] about Spotlight: 20 Ideas to Make 2020 a Life Changing Year – Part 1

Behaviouronomics: Normalcy Bias

Mark Twain famously said — It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.

The video below may be a little disturbing for some but it has a very important lesson which can save you not just from financial ruins but also from life-threatening situations.
[Read more…] about Behaviouronomics: Normalcy Bias

Bookworm: Ultralearning

In 2012, Scott Young took upon him the challenge to complete the four year computer science curriculum of MIT and pass the exams without attending the classes. It was literally a moonshot for two reasons. First, Scott had a degree in business and no prior knowledge of computers. Second, he was planning to finish the challenge in under one year.

He did it. And that started him on the path to mastering several other hard skills like learning to speak four different languages (fluently) in one year and learning to draw like a professional in 30 days.

How does he do it — mastering hard skills in a shockingly short amount of time?
[Read more…] about Bookworm: Ultralearning

Spotlight: Stay or Switch?

Monty Hall problem has baffled the maths enthusiasts for decades. Mr. Monty Hall was associated with the popular game show called Let’s Make a Deal on American TV. Over his 30 years long career, Hall hosted nearly 5000 episodes of Let’s Make a Deal.

At the end of every episode, the contestants were offered to play a game called “Big Deal.” Here’s how it was structured.

A contestant was invited to stand with Monty Hall facing three big doors: Door no. 1, Door no. 2, and Door no. 3. Behind one of these three doors is a grand prize like a brand new car. The other two doors have something useless like a goat. Of course, Hall knew beforehand which door had the prize.
[Read more…] about Spotlight: Stay or Switch?

Behaviouronomics: The Clustering Illusion

During World War II, in the middle of 1944, the Allied forces were gaining ground against Germany. With the invasion of Normandy, Germany was on its back foot. In spite of this massive setback, Germany was not ready to let up.

On June 13, 1944, a week after Normandy, a loud buzzing sound rattled through the skies of battle-worn London. Seconds later, a never seen before flying object crashed and exploded on one of the civilian establishments in the city. Dozens perished.

British intelligence soon discovered that it was a new weapon developed by Germany. They called it V-1.

On its debut night, 9 more V-1s were fired across the English channel. Fortunately, only four of them managed to strike England. But that was just the beginning. Over the next few months, Germany shot 13,000 of those V-1s.
[Read more…] about Behaviouronomics: The Clustering Illusion