korrents

← People and their mental models

Ben Carlson's mental models

3 claims Ben Carlson made fit 3 mental models. Most often: Compounding, Power laws, The map is not the territory. Everything they said here.

Models they name

Their own words name the idea.

Compounding

Small gains that build on themselves beat big one-off wins; so do small losses.

Others who think with this model

Albert ChengAlexandr WangAlice SchroederBarry RitholtzJames ClearMario Zechnerand 4 more

Open the model page

Saving dominates returns early in a career and returns dominate saving later, because compounding is back-loaded.

  1. Ben Carlson Director of institutional asset management at Ritholtz… How much you save has a far greater impact than your investments early on in your career. But as your portfolio grows, investment returns swamp your savings because of the wonders of compounding. How to Invest When Your Portfolio Gets Biggerawealthofcommonsense.com · 3 Sept 2026All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsHow much you save has a far greater impact than your investments early on in your career. But as your portfolio grows, investment returns swamp your savings because of the wonders of compounding.

    ↗How to Invest When Your Portfolio Gets Biggerawealthofcommonsense.com

    3 Sept 2026

Power laws

In many things a few cases account for most of the result, so the average misleads and the outlier decides.

Others who think with this model

Nassim Nicholas TalebAlbert-László BarabásiBill GurleyBrian PotterJamie DimonMike Kriegerand 3 more

Open the model page

Venture capital investing is a power-law strategy where a small number of big winners are expected to make up for many losses.

  1. Ben Carlson Director of institutional asset management at Ritholtz… Venture capital is a power law strategy by design. The hope is 1-2 big winners make up for all of the other losers. Can You Be a Boglehead Tech Investor?awealthofcommonsense.com · 24 Sept 2026All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsVenture capital is a power law strategy by design. The hope is 1-2 big winners make up for all of the other losers.

    ↗Can You Be a Boglehead Tech Investor?awealthofcommonsense.com

    24 Sept 2026

Models we see in what they say

Our reading: their claim applies the idea without naming it. The claim is theirs; filing it here is ours.

The map is not the territory

Every model, word or plan is a simplified map of reality; useful when its structure matches, misleading when mistaken for the thing itself.

Others who think with this model

Alfred KorzybskiDavis KedroskyEric RiesFreddie deBoerGibson BiddleGregory Batesonand 4 more

Open the model page

There is no average year in the stock market; the long-run average only shows up over a very long horizon.

  1. Ben Carlson Director of institutional asset management at Ritholtz… There is no such thing as an average experience in the stock market until you’ve been investing for a very long time. 10 Things You Need to Know About Investing in Stocksawealthofcommonsense.com · 27 Aug 2026All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThere is no such thing as an average experience in the stock market until you’ve been investing for a very long time.

    ↗10 Things You Need to Know About Investing in Stocksawealthofcommonsense.com

    27 Aug 2026