“Start by assuming the market is always wrong, so if you copy everybody else on Wall Street, you’re doomed to do poorly.”

If the bubbles contain a misconception, as they always do, then it can’t be maintained forever.

I chose America as my home because I value freedom and democracy, civil liberties and an open society.

When money is free, the rational lender will keep on lending until there is no one else to lend to.

To others, being wrong is a source of shame; to me, recognizing my mistakes is a source of pride.

In politics, manipulating reality can take presidence over finding reality.

Discount the obvious, bet on the unexpected.

There is very little difference between speculation and investment. The only difference is basically that investments are successful speculations because if you successfully anticipate the future you make a speculative profit.

Once a trend is established it tends to persist and to run it’s full course.

My sense of insecurity keeps me alert, always ready to correct my errors.

Misconceptions play a prominent role in my view of the world.

I’m not better than the next trader, just quicker at admitting my mistakes and moving on to the next opportunity.

Studying economics is not a good preparation for dealing with it.

When interest rates are low we have conditions for asset bubbles to develop, and they are developing at the moment. The ultimate asset bubble is gold.

The main enemy of the open society, I believe, is no longer the communist but the capitalist threat.

The reality is that financial markets are self-destabilizing; occasionally they tend toward disequilibrium, not equilibrium.

My conceptual framework, which basically emphasizes the importance of misconceptions, makes me extremely critical of my own decisions. I know that I am bound to be wrong, and therefore am more likely to correct my own mistakes.

Guard yourself against accusations, even if they are false; for the multitude are ignorant of the truth and look only to reputation.

Progress is a set of assumptions.

Photography has the power to undo your assumptions about the world.

Start with the assumption that the best way to do something is not the way it’s being done right now.

I’d always thought the world was a wish-granting factory.

Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed.

The most seditious is the most cowardly.

Do not presume, well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed, to criticize the poor