Kiasu and Kiasi

"Embracing “I’m not sure” is difficult. We are trained in school that saying “I don’t know” is a bad thing. Not knowing in school is considered a failure of learning. Write “I don’t know” as an answer on a test and your answer will be marked wrong.

Duke, Annie. Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts (pp. 26-27). Penguin Publishing Group."

Annie Duke argues that life (and investing) is a lot more akin to poker than it is to chess.

Chess, reasons Duke, is a board with all the pieces visible and all the information in front of you. Poker, by contrast, is a game where not all information is available.

Accordingly, it is arguably best not to fear uncertainty. It is best not to fear loss. It is best not to fear bankruptcy even though any of such concerns has its merits.

Duke goes so far as to say, it is actually advantageous in life to say, "I'm not sure"?

My Thoughts

This book did benefit this blogger, who needed a reminder that investing, like life, is not a certain science. It is more like art, probabilities and thinking in bets.

This book may benefit anybody across Asia, not just, with all love and respect, the stereotypical bookworms, rote learners, or those too used to a school system or life where the correct answer is sought.

Parting Words

If you are interested in what Annie Duke has to say, for a hardcopy of the book, Thinking in Bets, from Kinokuniya Malaysia, click here.

Any questions, comments, or like, please leave them below!