Over the years, I've used a number of different assessment tests on myself and our team. It's a great way to help people better understand each other and the different forms of communication and problem-solving styles we use.
Here are several of the tests that have proven themselves time and again:
Kolbe: measures a person's instinctive method of problem-solving, and identifies the ways they will be most productive.
Predictive Index (PI) – helps you understand the way their traits manifest in relation to their true nature and their perceived role.
StrengthsFinder: helps people uncover their talents, so they can do more of those things each day.
On top of my normal tests, as a team of data scientists, it's always fun to see what's available.
For example, Ray Dalio recently created a personality assessment called PrinciplesYou that you can take for free. I've seen a number of articles claiming that the assessment is not only accurate, but that it also has impressive insights.
Less meaningful, but still fun, I also found a website that lets you test your performance on various reaction and memory tests. Unsure how scientific it is, but it was an interesting use of 10 minutes nonetheless.
Small distinctions separate wise men from fools. Perhaps one of them has to do with what the wise man deems important.
Socrates' Triple Filter
In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"
"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."
"Triple filter?"
"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test.
The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "Actually I just heard about it and…"
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"
"No, on the contrary…"
"So," Socrates continued, "You want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left. The third filter is Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really."
"Well," concluded Socrates, "If what you want to tell me is neither true, nor good, nor even useful … then why tell it to me at all?"
With all the divisiveness in both media and in our everyday conversations with friends, family, and strangers … this is a good filter for what you say, what you post, and even how you view markets.
How Does That Apply to Me or Trading?
The concept of Socrates' Triple Filter applies to markets as well.
When I was a technical trader, rather than looking at fundamental data and scouring the news daily, I focused on developing dynamic and adaptive systems and processes to look at the universe of trading algorithms to identify which were in-phase and likely to perform well in the current market environment.
As we've transitioned to using advanced mathematics and AI to understand markets it becomes even more true.
Filter Out What Isn't Good For You.
In contrast, there are too many ways that the media (meaning the techniques, graphics, music, etc.), the people reporting it, and even the news itself, appeals to the fear and greed of human nature.
Likewise, I don't watch TV news anymore either. It seems like story after story is about terrible things. For example, during a recent visit with my mother, I listened to her watch the news. There was a constant stream of "oh no," or "oh my," and "that's terrible". You don't even have to watch the news to know what it says.
It's also true with what you feed your algorithms. Garbage in, garbage out. Just because you can plug in more data, doesn't mean that data is adding value. Deciding what not to do, and what not to listen to is equally as important as deciding what to do.
Artificial intelligence is exciting, but artificial stupidity is terrifying.
What's The Purpose of News for You?
My purpose changes what I'm looking for and the amount of attention I pay to different types of information. Am I reading or watching the news for entertainment, to learn something new, or to find something relevant and actionable?
One of my favorite activities every week is looking for new insights and interesting articles to share with you and my team. If you aren't getting my weekly reading list on Fridays – you're missing out. You can sign up here.
Getting back to Socrates' three filters and the business of trading, I often ask myself: is it important, does it affect our edge, or can I use it as a catalyst for innovation?
There's a lot of noise out there competing for your attention. Stay focused.
The six largest religions in the world are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
We often think about the differences between religions. However, the many similarities are obvious if you look (and may be indications of a more integral "truth".
Below is a wordcloud for each of those religions based on their major religious text.
If you find the name "Keith" it's because it was the translator's name, and the word "car" in the Hinduism wordcloud is an old-fashioned word for "chariot".
It's also worth acknowledging that this wordcloud is from the English translations so some words that may mean slightly different things in other languages can be all translated to one word in English. For example, it's very common in Biblical Hebrew to see different words translated into the same English word. A good example is Khata, Avon, and Pesha–three different ways of committing a wrong, that may all be translated the same.
Getting old is tough … and it gets tougher the older you get. As a result, finding your 'reasons for being' and joy in life become increasingly important as well.
2020 was a year of massive upheaval for many. Stress, change, pandemics, quarantine, new jobs, new goals … or at the other end of the spectrum, lack of change, lack of a job, or lack of purpose.
Regardless of the reason, many people struggle to get up in the morning. This is a shame because life is so much better than the alternative (and life becomes even better when you learn to enjoy living and let go of what isn't serving you).
There's a Japanese concept called Ikigai that may help.
Ikigai centers around finding purpose as you grow older. Paradoxically, it makes sense to start the process as early as possible.
Here is an infographic that lays out some "Reasons for Being."
Finding your "reason to be" and living with purpose are keys to making the most of your time.
The beauty of 2021 being a fresh start is that you can also change your approach and your vision.
The graphic highlights something interesting (yet almost counter-intuitive) … When two areas intersect, it creates something positive (e.g., a passion or a mission). However, where three areas intersect, it creates a pain point (for example it could be what you're good at, you love doing it, the world needs it … but it doesn't make you any money – so now you're struggling).
Worth examining and thinking about for a bit.
On a related note, here is a TEDx talk about the 9 common diet and lifestyle habits that help people live past 100.
I've always been a fan of Blockchain, but I've always been a bit more cautious of cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain is the technology foundation behind cryptocurrencies and an important enabling technology for the next generation of technological innovation.
This makes sense to me because the VCs were able to capitalize on the "Fear of Missing Out" and "Animal Spirits" driving the market without the concentration risk of a particular cryptocurrency. In a sense, it is the same reason I am bullish on Blockchain itself.
Making sense of cryptocurrencies, however, is tougher for me to justify. There are over 1000 currencies out there – and the list is growing. But valuation isn't really about first-mover advantages or features … You also must consider government policies and regulations and a host of other issues.
Consequently, it's hard to recommend putting money in any coin as an investment.
Speculating (or "trading") is a different conversation.
Clearly, there is a lot of money being made and lost … but how much of those gains and losses can be attributed to luck and how much to skill? A better question is … If you traded cryptocurrencies, how much of your gains or losses would be due to luck versus skill?
For the past few years, it felt as if the buzz had died down a little. Despite that, Bitcoin prices and many other cryptocurrencies continued to increase in value – though with much more volatility than normal investments.
This week, Dogecoin (a cryptocurrency that started as a meme) jumped from $.07 a coin to $.35 a coin, capitalizing on press and support from Elon Musk. But it's not the only cryptocurrency doing well.
A lot of the jump in the price of many coins recently coincided with the GameStop trading surge and was likely driven by the sentiment of those same retail traders.
Crypto's are interesting, in part, because they're a digital currency decentralized over a peer-to-peer network.
The more people are willing to accept it as a medium of exchange, the more valuable it becomes (and the more it becomes a stable store of value).
Supposedly, decentralization provides it safety from censorship and government interference – meaning it has value as an international currency, and as a currency for black-market transactions. But, in my opinion, that remains to be seen (and I consider it unlikely for most cryptocurrencies).
Compared to a reserve currency – whose worth is primarily influenced by trade value and other macroeconomic factors – watching crypto's volatility can be scary.
That being said, as adoption increases and more businesses enable it, it's possible that it will continue to legitimize. For the time being, I remain a long-term skeptic because there is too much working against it.
For an extra laugh, here's a still relevant video from 2017 on why you should invest all your money in Bitcoin.
In addition, here's an A.I. remastered World War II cartoon written by Dr. Seuss with a character named Private Snafu. It's one episode of a series of shorts that were banned post-WWII, and it's one of the more tame episodes. For an extra piece of trivia, the name of Private Snafu and his series of shorts was based on the military acronym for "Situation Normal: All F***ed Up".
While produced by Warner Bros., these shorts which were made for the US military did not have to go through the Production Code Administration and thus got away with raunchier humor, foul language, and what we would today categorize as racist propaganda against the Japanese and Germans.
While it's okay to acknowledge that we should be doing better today, I also think it's interesting and informative to watch older materials in the context and time period they were written.
Racism isn't okay, but if you don't know history, you're doomed to repeat it, and art can be discussed and enjoyed within that context as well.
via Human Benchmark
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