Ideas worth keeping in mind

Agree or not, give it a think

Ideology and pragmatism can be at odds. Even something as fundamental as diversity and equity. Tune in to find out more

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Buffett says that he always selects board members based on competence, relevant business experience, shareholder value, and special interest in Berkshire Hathaway.

His business partner Charlie Munger used to tell a story that explained the way they think about diversity:

As a lawyer, Munger did some work for the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles. His law partner at the time was surprised that a religious leader with strong convictions had chosen them for the task. He remarked, “We know you don't need to hire us to do this. There's plenty of good Catholic tax lawyers.”

The Archbishop’s response was thought-provoking. He said, “ Last year I had a very serious surgery and I did NOT look around for the leading Catholic surgeon.”

That's the way Buffett and Munger feel about diversity on the board.

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Confronting an authority and being confrontational are different things. The first is a measured question while the latter is a habit of creating a fuss at every provocation. Being perceived as confrontational generally backfires but if you confront intending to change unfair practices and systems, there is a chance things will go your way.

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Landemore’s case can be summarised in five key points -

1. Political deliberation can be understood as political problem-solving.

2. The Diversity Trumps Ability Theorem (DTA) suggests that, when certain conditions are met, maximizing cognitive diversity is more important for epistemically reliable problem-solving, than individual ability.

3. The conditions of the Diversity trumps ability theorem (DTA) can be satisfied in political deliberation.

4. Maximizing the number of individuals in political deliberation also maximizes cognitive diversity in political deliberation.

5. Democratic deliberation is more cognitively diverse than any form of non-democratic deliberation, on account of democratic deliberation being comparatively more inclusive of the entire population compared to non-democratic deliberation, even when the necessity of political representation is accounted for.

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"The darker the night, the brighter the stars, The deeper the grief, the closer is God!"