William Poundstone Quotes
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The best strategy is one that offers the highest compound return consistent with no risk of going broke.
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Are there any mythical beasts which aren't simple pastiches of nature? Centaurs, minotaurs, unicorns, griffons, chimeras, sphinxes, manticores, and the like don't speak well for the human imagination. None is as novel as a kangaroo or starfish.
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Use "entropy" and you can never lose a debate, von Neumann told Shannon - because no one really knows what "entropy" is.
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People tend to be clueless about prices. Contrary to economic theory, we don't really decide between A and B by consulting our invisible price tags and purchasing the one that yields the higher utility, he says. We make do with guesstimates and a vague recollection of what things are “supposed to cost.”
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Samuelson, however, hedged his personal bets - by putting some of his own money in Berkshire Hathaway.
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The best paradoxes raise questions about what kinds of contradictions can occur-what species of impossibilities are possible.
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Expectation is a statistical fiction, like having 2.5 children.
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In real conversations, we are always trying to outguess each other.