8 Comments
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Raviga Ventures's avatar

Great piece, Oguz. The Bloomberg Saddam headline example says everything — two opposite narratives within 30 minutes, both "supported" by the same event. That's the market in a nutshell.

We don't question information by default. Skepticism is a learned behavior, and even well-educated people revert to trusting narratives in domains outside their expertise. That's not a bug — it's how we're wired.

What you're really describing is a meta-edge: structuring your portfolio so that your edge doesn't depend on winning an information race you can't win. Most people never get there because the information flow feels productive. It's comfortable to feel "on top of things."

Most investors are optimizing the quality of their chess moves. Buffett changed the game — he only plays on boards where he already knows he won't lose.

Oguz Erkan's avatar

Indeed, glad you liked the piece, thanks for the great comment!

Europe Capital's avatar

It seems like time is a huge factor

Oguz Erkan's avatar

The longer your time horizon, the harder it becomes to lose.

Ken Gursky's avatar

This was truly value added. Crystalizes what I already know, but often forget.

If I was still working as a Financial Advisor, I’d probably tell every new client that as part of their on boarding, they are required to read this at least annually, then discuss it with me.

Terrific work, thank you.(why the F did I even buy MU LOL)

Oguz Erkan's avatar

Thank you, glad you liked it! Unless we keep these principles in mind, permanent underperformance is inevitable.

SneakyBird's avatar

Amazing piece, as usual

Oguz Erkan's avatar

Thank you so much, glad you liked it!