Intellectual Honesty

One-line definition: The discipline that keeps Storytelling from sliding into “hype” — testing whether your narrative actually represents reality or just one you want to buy into.

How it shows up

• The essay’s landing: storytelling “is a weapon that can be wielded for good or evil,” and becomes a slippery slope “if it’s not coupled with significant amounts of intellectual honesty and a spirit of humility.” Charlie Munger: “you’re the easiest one to fool.”

Related concepts

• Storytelling — the practice intellectual honesty is meant to discipline, keeping narrative from sliding into hype.
• Humility — paired with intellectual honesty in the essay as the safeguard against self-deception.
• Charlie Munger — source of the “you’re the easiest one to fool” warning that anchors the page.
• The Storytelling of Investing - Research — the research note this concept is drawn from.

Where it shows up

• The Storytelling of Investing - Research

Saved from Roam

• https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2021/02/05/where-in-your-education-were-you-taught-about-intellectual-honesty/
• https://medium.com/government-political-theory-columns-by-david-grace/intellectual-honesty-vs-intellectual-dishonesty-an-honest-advocate-vs-a-dishonest-partisan-7e4699ddff00
• https://fs.blog/the-single-best-interview-question-you-can-ask/
• https://www.canaan.com/latest/startups-metrics-intellectual-honesty
• https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/29/a-gen-z-vc-speaks-up-why-gen-z-vcs-are-trash/