Background story on Zerohedge

[Castanza]

2 hours ago, thowed said:

I'd forgotten about this.  I came across this early on in my investment time - fortunately for me I didn't have enough money to go beyond the paywall, as in those days that sort of thing was right up my street.

 

Bears usually sound smarter, but I truly believe optimism is one of the greatest things a person can have. 

 

I'd never heard of the Christian Science Monitor - thanks for the tip.  The name is rather off-putting, and misleading! 

Yup, everyone thinks it’s a heavily religious publication but I’ve found their info to be very matter of fact. I think there are ties to Christianity, but for every day reporting in international news it’s been pretty good. 

Edited April 4, 2023 by Castanza

[rkbabang]

21 hours ago, crs223 said:

 

No, this doesn’t work.  When an intelligent person is getting started with investing reads ZH… that person “truly knows and is comfortable with” (your words) the system is corrupt and collapse is imminent.

 

 

 

Well the system IS corrupt.  Collapse may or may not happen in your lifetime though.  You need to realize that the system has always been corrupt, so ask yourself what is different now?   You should read everything, but believe nothing 100%.  You should hedge your bets a little both ways. If you don't think it will collapse, prepare a little for the collapse, and if you think it will collapse, prepare for the case where it doesn't.   No one knows what will happen, the system can get carried along by momentum for a very long time, or it could collapse this decade, or we could all be killed by AI in the next 5 years.   Read everything, believe nothing, prepare for everything you can think of, and enjoy the ride.  

 

I've always enjoyed ZH, but have never taken it as any type of gospel.

 

“I don't believe anything, but I have many suspicions.”

― Robert Anton Wilson

[ValueArb]

14 hours ago, Castanza said:

Yup, everyone thinks it’s a heavily religious publication but I’ve found their info to be very matter of fact. I think there are ties to Christianity, but for every day reporting in international news it’s been pretty good. 

 

I haven't read it in twenty years but that has always been its reputation. Pretty sure my mom still gets it.

[Castanza]

19 minutes ago, rkbabang said:

 

 

Well the system IS corrupt.  Collapse may or may not happen in your lifetime though.  You need to realize that the system has always been corrupt, so ask yourself what is different now?   You should read everything, but believe nothing 100%.  You should hedge your bets a little both ways. If you don't think it will collapse, prepare a little for the collapse, and if you think it will collapse, prepare for the case where it doesn't.   No one knows what will happen, the system can get carried along by momentum for a very long time, or it could collapse this decade, or we could all be killed by AI in the next 5 years.   Read everything, believe nothing, prepare for everything you can think of, and enjoy the ride.  

 

I've always enjoyed ZH, but have never taken it as any type of gospel.

 

“I don't believe anything, but I have many suspicions.”

― Robert Anton Wilson

 

I do think it's good advice to read everything but taking it with a grain of salt. There is often some truth to be found. 

 

Back in college I took a bio-ethics course and the very first day of class the prof had a picture of some guy in NYC wearing a tinfoil had with a sign that said "The government is making spider goats." Everyone thought it was some meme joke etc. But then he went to the next slide with an article clarifying the reality of the situation. Turns out the government isn't making "spider goats" but instead goats that can produce milk that contains spider silk which could eventually be used in materials science for varying things. His point was that all perspectives should be heard, but it's up to you to do proper due diligence to understand the origins of the claims/data. Getting back to the source is key for any field of study.  

 

https://agfundernews.com/what-happened-to-those-gm-spider-goats-with-the-silky-milk

[Gregmal]

Yea I turned off CNBC in 2016 and haven’t watched a second since. Peak was Icahn vs Ackman on HLF. Peak entertainment that is; there was never any value and if anything it was a distraction. 

[rkbabang]

36 minutes ago, dealraker said:

No I simply do not agree that you need to read all.  And watching CNBC is fun for me, but the entire show (almost) is about price predictions - and price predictions now or a a few days from now...as if all of life depends on the same damn endlessly dreaded thing that the entire world revolves around:  Avoid, at any cost, lower quotes...even if it destroys the long term.

 

Ok, my statement was a little too broad.  Obviously it isn't even possible to read "everything".  But you should search out different views, make an effort to break out of your bubble, and read things that have some value even if biased. Try to see the bias and see if you can extract the value and ignore the non-sense.  Also try to see things from the point of view of people you disagree with.   If there is no value in something at all (i.e. CNBC) then I agree you should ignore it completely.  I do think ZH has some value as long as you keep the source in mind as you are reading it.  It's one of those sites that I skim the headlines and read an article here and there.

[spartansaver]

3 minutes ago, rkbabang said:

 

Ok, my statement was a little too broad.  Obviously it isn't even possible to read "everything".  But you should search out different views, make an effort to break out of your bubble, and read things that have some value even if biased. Try to see the bias and see if you can extract the value and ignore the non-sense.  Also try to see things from the point of view of people you disagree with.   If there is no value in something at all (i.e. CNBC) then I agree you should ignore it completely.  I do think ZH has some value as long as you keep the source in mind as you are reading it.  It's one of those sites that I skim the headlines and read an article here and there.

I think it's important to keep an open mind. I remember when Muscleman first described the situation in Wuhan. Those initial posts allowed me to formulate a pretty unique view that helped make 2020 one of my best investment years. I would say that while I viewed the posts to some degree with skepticism (it sounded like the world could end) they were actually quite accurate and no mainstream media outlet was ready to say just how bad it could get. 

[gfp]

39 minutes ago, spartansaver said:

I think it's important to keep an open mind. I remember when Muscleman first described the situation in Wuhan. Those initial posts allowed me to formulate a pretty unique view that helped make 2020 one of my best investment years. I would say that while I viewed the posts to some degree with skepticism (it sounded like the world could end) they were actually quite accurate and no mainstream media outlet was ready to say just how bad it could get. 

+1 !!  Three cheers to muscleman's early anecdotes and word on the street info that he shared with us all.  It was certainly helpful and timely

[Gamecock-YT]

zerohedge is good but you have to filter out anything that is authored by anyone but themselves and specific to financial info. much more deeper in the weeds of finance info than you're going to reliably get from FT or WSJ.