All opinions are wrong, but some are useful.

Computer Science

Machine learning

Computer System

  • Computer Systems A Programmer’s Perspective. Famous CMU 15213 textbook. It describes how computer systems execute programs, store information, and communication. To me, it is a prerequisite to learn deeper computer system knowledge. It covers some high-level overview of OS, networking. Strongly recommend learning with CMU lecture video and finish its programming assignment. After finishing them, I better understand what’s happening when I am programming and have more confidence in arguing with others about solution efficiencies and feasibility.

Economic

  • Principles of Economics by N. Gregory Mankiw: Highly recommend this book for an Economics beginner. This book is beginner-friendly and covering both micro & macro area in Economics. This book is the textbook of the American economics AP course in many schools, which justifies the correctness & readability of this book. As for me, I began understanding some of the economics concepts spread across media after reading this book. It is a pity not to read this book at a young age.
  • The Economics of Money, Banking, and Finanacial Markets: An introduction book about what the name is: The Money, Banking and Financial Markets. Though these concepts appeares on the principles of economics, this book provides a deeper insight about how these concepts are working and how these influences what we see on everyday financial news.

Investment

  • The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: When I just began to work and had no idea about investment, this book inspired me to make my first trade. This book is authored by John C. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. It is an excellent opportunity to listen to one of the greatest investors in history about his investment analysis. This book listed many statistics and analyzed the logic behind them—a great short book to start thinking like a real investor instead of a speculator. The most significant learning for me from this book is knowing the power of compound interestl, a reasonable performance expectation from the stock market under a constrained risk and a taste of how/what to analyze a stock (more specifically S&P500).

  • A random walk down wall street: This book uncovers more types of mistakes regular investors usually make. It compares technical and fundamental analysis and reveals why they rarely work for ordinary investors. It also lists some critical conclusions according to America’s 100 plus years’ market statistics, and it does guide some trades for me. Interestingly, it introduces some risk-based investment technology like beta-alpha risks measure (It’s a little bit far for me, a person who doesn’t want to spend too much time on stocks). I think it is an incredible complete concerning knowledge about different investment techniques. This book cultivates my intuition/taste on the correctness of thousands of investment articles spread across the media.

  • Investing, the last liberal art It doesn’t teach how to read a financial statement; it doesn’t teach how to analyze the data behind a stock. However, it tells some natural laws of things that also apply to the investment. It is a book of methodology: after getting a target stock, what aspect we should consider. The author Hagstrom tries to illustrate Charlie Munger’s “latticework of mental models” in an understandable way.

    The core of the “latticework of mental model”: In short, learn all the big ideas and how they interrelate, and better, more rational thinking will naturally follow. These big ideas include physics, biology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, paper, mathematics, decision-making, etc. Putting an analogy from these ideas to investment also inspires me to rethink and redescribe the world around us, not only on investment —— This is what Munger calls Elementary Worldly Wisdom.

  • The Intelligent Investor: One of the bibles of investments, you shouldn’t miss this book if you want to become an “active” investment. Well, this book is more technical and details-oriented than the books above – it contains much more explanation and quantative measurement for the “value” of a stock. Specifically, this book includes ample examples how/what to look from financial reports for a stock, which is a key step for a person trying to become an active investment. The only drawback is the lingustic is hard to understand as it was written several decades before and it contains some terms which requires decent financial background. In addition, some of the concept may be a little out of date, looking at the success of growth companies like FAANG in the past decade. However, the concept of “Margin of Safety” focused in this book is absolutely a great guidence for people to follow if they believe “value investing”.

  • 一本书读懂财报: A book helping me understand the financial report basic concepts. Understanding financial report is the basics to do active investment. Also, it raises me some thinking about a broader concept of digitalization.

History

  • American History: I learn American history by listening to the VOA English – American History. It is chronologically recording history happening in the USA from Indian time to nowadays, from Buffalo to 911. Every president is clearly storied with importants events happening during his term. It is interesting to see how the USA, the latest found land on earth, became the most powerful country in the world. Nothing will last forever but there must be something to learn.

  • Rome Republic: No one researching European/American’s evolution could skip Rome/Greece hitory. A history different from Qing/Han dynasty though achieving a similar effect — building a great empire and inspiring its successors. A famous quote “All roads lead to Rome” reflects the status of the empire. Its oligarchy form of government put a great influence on the western society (including American founding fathers) and people nowdays are still proud of identity, “Rome Successors”. More importantly, combining with the Rome Empire history, it shows clearly the “anacyclosis cycle” — Anarchy -> Kingship -> Tyranny -> Aristocracy -> Oligarchy -> democracy -> Mob Rule -> Anarchy. It is another excellent example of “Nothing will last forever”. It is just another cycle, and where are we in right now?