Fortune Watch

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This is a story by Isaac Asimov which I thought was worth sharing : What is intelligence, anyway? When I was in the army, I received the kind of aptitude test that all soldiers took and, against a normal of 100, scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that, and for two hours they made a big fuss over me. (It didn’t mean anything. The next day I was still a buck private with KP - kitchen police - as my highest duty.)

All my life I’ve been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I’m highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think so too. Actually, though, don’t such scores simply mean that I am very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered worthy of answers by people who make up the intelligence tests - people with intellectual bents similar to mine?

For instance, I had an auto-repair man once, who, on these intelligence tests, could not possibly have scored more than 80, by my estimate. I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent than he was. Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him with it, watched him anxiously as he explored its vitals, and listened to his pronouncements as though they were divine oracles - and he always fixed my car.

Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an intelligence test. Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or, indeed, almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I’d prove myself a moron, and I’d be a moron, too. In a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do poorly. My intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in and of the fact that a small subsection of that society has managed to foist itself on the rest as an arbiter of such matters.

Consider my auto-repair man, again. He had a habit of telling me jokes whenever he saw me. One time he raised his head from under the automobile hood to say: “Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left.

Well, doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?” Indulgently, I lifted my right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed raucously and said, “Why, you dumb jerk, He used his voice and asked for them.” Then he said smugly, “I’ve been trying that on all my customers today.” “Did you catch many?” I asked. “Quite a few,” he said, “but I knew for sure I’d catch
you.” “Why is that?” I asked.

“Because you’re so goddamned educated, doc, I knew you couldn’t be very smart.”

Here’s an old story that some of us have heard when we were children. A group of blind men want to know what an elephant is like and are taken to an elephant to figure its shape out for themselves. Each one touches a different part and thus gets a completely different idea of what the elephant is like. One touches its side and thinks the elephant is like a wall. Another one touches the trunk and thinks it to be like a snake. The one who touches the tail thinks that the elephant to be like a rope and the ears were like a fan and the tusks like spears and the legs like tree trunks and so on and so forth. The moral of the story is obvious. In some versions of this story the blind men become violent over their differences and beat each other up. The story is used to indicate that reality may be viewed differently depending upon one’s perspective. The problem, of course, is not the blind men are all wrong but they are all correct, but only partially so.

When the stock markets have fall sharply, losing about 5 per cent over five trading days. Newspapers and on TV channels, there are any number of blind men offering opinions about the elephant in the stock markets. Here are some of the more popular reasons. Worried about inflation and under pressure, the government will reduce duties on X and/or forbid the exports of Y and/or ban futures trading in Z and/or increase capital gains tax (either short-term or long-term) and/or an increase in the Securities Trading Tax and lots more.

All of it sounds like reasonable fears and any one could come true. In recent months, generally when I talked to big investors they seemed to be hunting for reasons to justify the rise in stocks. Now, they are desperately hunting for reasons to prove that stocks are going to fall. At the end of the day, the fact remains that after years of booming stock prices, everyone is nervous and knows that there will some kind of a correction and would like it be over and done with as quickly as possible.
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One of my friends writes some interesting stuff that is being written nowadays about investing, is fond of using the word fool. But he doesn’t do it the normal way - the way, say, a school teacher does. For example, I remember him once saying that banks were the default suppliers of foolishness in the markets. This idea of foolishness in this special sense makes it easier to understand why markets behave the way they do. What exactly is this foolishness? I think it’s best defined as what is not.

We’ve all heard of the Efficient Market Hypothesis, which says that financial markets are ‘efficient’, meaning that the prices of stocks (or other securities) reflect all known information and therefore incorporate the collective beliefs of all investors about the future. For the hypothesis to be correct, people must have equal access to all information and have rational expectations.

I think the kind of foolishness we are talking about is everything that is the opposite of all those factors that make the market efficient. It’s a bit like heat and cold in physics. You could say that the flow of knowledge and rational expectations keep the markets efficient or you could say that it’s the flow of foolishness that keeps the markets inefficient. Isn’t that a problem? No, it isn’t, most certainly not. Inefficiency is what keeps the stock market interesting and profitable. If the markets were as efficient as the hypothesis says, then those who can identify and mark out foolishness would make less money.

Therefore, a steady and limitless supply of foolishness is the greatest of assets. Foolishness is the life blood of the stock market. Without foolishness, we would be nowhere. Instead of worrying about how well companies are doing and how much the economy is growing, smart stock investors should instead worry about whether an adequate supply of foolishness will be maintained. I’m happy to inform readers that if present trends continue, they have nothing to fear.

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“Most people are to busy earning a living to make any money.” - Unknown

“A man who has a million dollars is as well off as if he were rich.” - Cleveland Amory

“Money is just the poor man’s credit card.” - Marshall McLuhan

“It is only by not paying ones bills that one can hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes.” - Oscar Wilde

“A bargain is something you can’t use at a price you can’t resist.” - Franklin Jones.

“Money can’t buy happiness; but POVERTY can’t buy ANYTHING.” - Anonymous

“I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.” - Jackie Mason

“If it isn’t the sheriff, it’s the finance company: I’ve got more attachments on me than a vacuum cleaner.” - John Barrymoore

You Know You’re Rich When…
During a cold winter night you can’t find any more firewood so you hack the leg off your Steinway grand piano and use it to keep the fire going until your butler shows back up with something more flammable Your children play monopoly with real money.

God’s Time And Money
A preacher went into his church and he was praying to God. While he was praying, he asked God, “How long is 10 million years to you?” God replied, “1 second.” The next day the preacher asked God, “God, how much is 10 million dollars to you?” And God replied, “A penny.” Then finally the next day the preacher asked God, “God, can I have one of your pennies?” And God replied, “Just wait a sec.”

Broker
Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Lending
If you lend somebody ten pounds and never see them again….. it was probably worth it.

“The financial markets generally are unpredictable. So that one has to have different scenarios.. The idea that you can actually predict what’s going to happen contradicts my way of looking at the market.” - GeorgeSoros.

“You aren’t wealthy until you have something money can’t buy.” - Garth Brooks.

“Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the “game.” - Donald Trump.

“My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil.” - JP Getty.

“I owe much; I have nothing; the rest I leave to the poor.” - Francois Rebelais.

“It is only by not paying ones bills that one can hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes.” - Oscar Wilde.

“I don’t mind going back to daylight saving time. With inflation, the hour will be the only thing I’ve saved all year.” - Victor Borge.

“If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.” - Dorothy Parker.

“When buying shares, ask yourself, would you buy the whole company?” - Rene Rivki.

Into The Real World:
Recently launched into the “real world” and shocked by the expenses that came with it, Bob was complaining about the high cost of car insurance. “If you got married,” teased his friend Brad, “the premium would be lower.” Bob responded, “But wouldn’t that be like buying an airline just to get free peanuts?”

Borrowing:
Borrow money from a pessimist - they don’t expect it back.

I was tagged Anna at Box 1715 for 8 random facts

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

• When I first did the bungee jump I had a note “please feed my dog if I dont come back” in my pocket.
• My favourtie all time movie is The good, The bad and The Ugly.
• I still miss Binzo, my dog whom I lost nearly fifteen years back.
• My faourite word is still MAGIC.
• I and Osama Bin Laden share the same bithday 10th March, my friends say that explanins a lot
• My daughter is now eight years old.
• When John Lennon was 11 years old he thought he was the best ever born, I thought the same, but no one else seemed to think so.
• I am allergic to gravity, wish I could fly.

Now I am tagging Zakman , SmartWealthyRich , Jag , Adam , Boston Brat , Shane , RobWatts , UrbanMonk .

“Buy land. They’ve stopped making it.” – Mark Twain

“Money won’t buy happiness, but it will pay the salaries of a large research staff to study the problem.” - Bill Vaughn

“I made my money the old fashioned way. I was very nice to a wealthy relative right before he died.” - Malcolm Forbes

“If all the rich people in the world divided up their money among themselves, there wouldn’t be enough to go around.” - Christina Stead

“I finally know what distinguishes man from other beasts: financial worries.” - Jules Renard

A letter from a college student
The parents of a Northwestern student who just headed back from holiday received this letter: Dear Mom and Dad: Univer$ity life i$ $o wonderful! Cla$$e$ and $e$$ion are intere$ting, my cla$$mate$ are the be$t! But after $pending all my ca$h on Chri$tma$ pre$ent$, I am in a little need for $ome $pending money for book$ and $uch. But I don’t want to $end the wrong $ignal$ home.

Insufficient Funds
A young college co-ed came running in tears to her father. “Dad, you gave me some terrible financial advice!” “I did? What did I tell you?” said the dad. “You told me to put my money in that big bank, and now that big bank is in trouble.” “What are you talking about? That’s one of the largest banks in the state,” he said. “There must be some mistake.” “I don’t think so,” she sniffed. “They just returned one of my checks with a note saying, ‘Insufficient Funds’.”

Saving money
Mother had decided to trim her household budget wherever possible, so instead of having a dress dry-cleaned she washed it by hand. Proud of her savings, she boasted to my father, just think, Fred, we are five dollars richer because I washed this dress by hand. Good, my dad quickly replied. Wash it again!

“Economists report that a college education adds many thousands of dollars to a man’s lifetime income - which he then spends sending his son to college”. - Bill Vaughn

“He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money”. - Benjamin Franklin

“Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip”. - John Locke

“I‘m so naive about finances. Once when my mother mentioned an amount and I realized I didn’t understand, she had to explain: ‘That’s like three Mercedes.’ Then I understood”. - Brooke Shields

“If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves”. - Lane Kirkland

“Someone stole all my credit cards, but I won’t be reporting it. The thief spends less than my wife did”. - Henry Youngman

“There’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can’t do any business from there”. - Colonel Sanders

Financial Joke:
A tour guide was showing a tourist around Washington, D. C. The guide pointed out the place where George Washington supposedly threw a dollar across the Potomac River. “That’s impossible,” said the tourist. “No one could throw a coin that far!” “You have to remember,” answered the guide. “A dollar went a lot farther in those days.”

Being successful:
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

I was tagged by Shane (zoomstart) to join in on a meme, who in turn was tagged by Rob (yack yack). This is not the first time I have participated in a meme, the first one was Blog Apocalypse. This one as the heading says is the challenge to write a post about why I blog. You know how these things work. You write whatever the meme calls for and then you tag 5 more people to do the same thing to keep it going.

We all have our own special ways how we relax, and that includes me.

This photo here depicts one of the two ways how I relax – throw caution to the winds and be totally carefree!

My other way of relaxing is — you guessed it — blogging.

I was stuck in Bahrain’s notorious traffic once again the other evening, and I found my thoughts wandering to blogging, and why I do it. Several explanations popped into my head, including money-making, impressing my new boss, or my neighbour’s teenage daughter, killing time, a reason to learn PHP and CSS, what not.

All my expertise in lying to myself wouldn’t help me accept any of these explanations. There was something else. And just as the traffic started moving again, the answer came to me.

You see, an artist likes to see his signature on his painting. A writer is passionate about his name in print. A copywriter will stare at his creative ad for ages. All of them have something in common — they are expressing themselves.

I see a kind of quiet satisfaction when something I have to share is made public for others to read — whether they accept it or reject it, that’s none of my business. My concern is for the serene happiness it gives me when I hit the bed every night.

I asked myself, if my goal was to make $15,000 per month from blogging, and if someone offered to pay me the same amount every month for doing nothing, would I stop blogging?

No, I wouldn’t. Certainly not. It’s not about money. It’s something money can’t satisfy. In my case, it’s simply called passion. A passion for expression.

Now I am Tagging Zakman, Jag , Boston Brat , Christy’s Coffee Break , Adam

Until next time, Cheers

A woman proudly told her friend, “I’m responsible for making my husband a millionaire.” “Well what was he before he married you?” the friend asked. “A billionaire.”

A dollar per point
A professor was giving a big test one day to his students. He handed out all of the tests and went back to his desk to wait. Once the test was over the students all handed the tests back in. The professor noticed that one of the students had attached a $100 bill to his test with a note saying “A dollar per point.” The next class the professor handed the graded tests back out. This student got back his test, his test grade, and $64 change.

A man being mugged by two thugs put up a tremendous fight! Finally, the thugs subdued him and took his wallet. Upon finding only two dollars in the wallet, the surprised thug said “Why did you put up such a fight?” To which the man promptly replied “I was afraid that you would find the $200 hidden in my shoe!”

“When people ask me if I have any spare change, I tell them I have it at home in my spare wallet.” - Nick Arnette.

“Ever wonder about those people who spend $2 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backward” - George Carlin.

“There were times my pants were so thin I could sit on a dime and tell if it was heads or tails.” - Spencer Tracy.

“Any man who has $10,000 left when he dies is a failure.” - Errol Flynn.

“It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed.” - Ken Hubbard.