Mungerism Time Again

My dearest Moo Moo Cow,

It's that time of the year for Wesco Annual Meeting and good old Charlie Munger is on form yet again ( http://news.morningstar.com/article/article.asp?id=193723 )

Some memorable widsom quoted in the article.

• --Munger stated that many smart people handicapped themselves with "nuttiness." One example is being an "extreme ideologue," which is the equivalent of "having taken your brain and started pounding it with a hammer."
  
  --Your life must focus on the "maximization of objectivity."
  
  --"You must learn the method of learning."
  
  --"It is totally unproductive to think the world has been unfair to you. Every tough stretch is an opportunity."
  
  --"You can get away with more than you deserve in life by being slightly more rational."
  
  --"I'm not going to complain about my age because without it, I'd be dead."

On the issue of railways.

• One questioner asked about a closely held belief that Munger had recently overturned. After some thinking, Munger responded that Berkshire's recent purchase of railroad stocks marked a 180 degree change in thinking about the industry. According to Munger, railroads now have a huge competitive advantage over trucking because of innovations such as double-stacked cars and computer modeling of routes. Munger said he and Buffett were too late in recognizing the changes and could have made much more money. Apparently, Bill Gates figured out it out two years ago and made "multiples of his money" with railroads.

Other links.

• Notes for Wesco Financial Annual Meeting