According to his own account, rather than focusing on investment theory like a laser, he has studied widely and deeply in many fields, including microeconomics, psychology, law, mathematics, biology, and engineering, and applied insights from them to investing.

Pavlov discovered that with the right conditioning, dogs would salivate not just when eating food, but also in anticipation of it when he walked into the laboratory. Munger applies the same logic to business.

Rule #1: Learn Multiple Models

“The first rule is that you’ve got to have multiple models — because if you just have one or two that you’re using, the nature of human psychology is such that you’ll torture reality so that it fits your models.”

“It’s like the old saying, ‘To the man with only a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.’ But that’s a perfectly disastrous way to think and a perfectly disastrous way to operate in the world.”

Rule #2: Learn Multiple Models From Multiple Disciplines

Rule #3: Focus On Big Ideas From The Big Disciplines (20% Of Models Create 80% Of The Results)

Rule #4: Use A Checklist To Ensure You’re Factoring in the Right Models

Rule #5: Create Multiple Checklists And Use The Right One For The Situation

Albert Einstein was trained in physics, but to formulate his law of general relativity, he taught himself an area of mathematics far removed from his expertise, Riemannian geometry.

When it comes to drilling into one domain,the competition is generally fierce. Narrowly specializingalso leaves you vulnerable to the ever-more daunting forces of change.

Bill Gates recalls that the longest correspondence he’s had with Charlie Munger wasn’t about an investment, it was about the mating habits.