Gandhi's Seven Social Sins

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1. Wealth without Work 

2. Pleasure without Conscience 

3. Science without Humanity 

4. Knowledge without Character 

5. Politics without Principle 

6. Commerce without Morality 

7. Worship without Sacrifice 

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Marry the best who will have you and other wisdom from Munger and Buffett

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I spent the last weekend in Omaha, Nebraska with two of the my heroes- Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett . After attending the Berkshire Hathaway (BH) for a few years, I still get amazed how a shareholder meeting attracts 40,000+ people and the meeting is about two guys having fun. Everyone else  enjoys watching them have fun. The format is six hours of open Q&A. There is no preparation by Munger and Buffett. Anyone can ask anything about anything expect what BH is going to buy/sell next. You will see it in the notes  that a wide variety of topics are covered. Notes from previous years are available here . The David Sokol issue was covered by Buffett and that part of the meeting has been recorded so I have not covered it in my notes. You can see it here. Munger talked more this year compared to previous years. I just love this man. He is brilliant! Following are my random notes from the meeting: Buffett does two things in his job- 1) keep operating manag...
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Systems Thinking as taught by Ackoff

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In Memory of Ralph Abraham: A Friend, Teacher, and Exemplary Human

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My dear friend, Ralph Abraham , passed away on September 19th, 2024. He was 88. It is one of the greatest honors of my life that Ralph considered me his friend. In my entire life, I have never met anyone whose intellectual depth, openness, and kindness matched Ralph's. My family and my parents feel the same.  I met Ralph in November 2009 at Esalen where I attended a workshop he taught on Human Potential . Since then, I met him regularly every three to four months for lunch. I cherished my time with him. I often joked that I didn’t understand half the things Ralph said, and the half I did understand made me rethink everything I knew. There is some truth in that joke.  Ralph discussing Consciousness  Ralph profoundly influenced me. Here are some of the ways: 1. Consciousness: This was probably the most discussed topic between the two of us. He shared with me that there are three levels of consciousness :  (i) Individual (humans and other sentient beings)  (i...
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