The interview process is never fun.

But it’s a real opportunity to stand out.

Master these 10 common questions to nail your next interview:

THREAD: The story of the week in finance is how a group of retail traders at @wallstreetbets, with assists from @ElonMusk and @Chamath, took down the establishment short sellers at GameStop.

A thread on the underlying mechanics of the $GME saga...

1/ First, for those unfamiliar with the business, GameStop is a videogame and merchandise retailer.

It has >5,000 stores, primarily in malls, across North America, Europe, and Australia.

The business has struggled to modernize, hurting its financial and stock performance.

2/ For a variety of business reasons, a bull (i.e. optimistic) case regarding its future performance has formed.

It really came to the forefront after RC Ventures, an entity managed by Chewy founder @ryancohen, disclosed a large position and assumed three board seats.

3/ @ryancohen summarized his case, stating:

"We are excited to bring our customer-obsessed mindset and technology experience to GameStop and its strategic assets...expanding the ways in which it delights customers and by becoming the ultimate destination for gamers."

4/ At the time of that statement on January 11, $GME stock was trading at about ~$20 per share.

Since then, the stock has surged to ~$200 per share and captured the public imagination.

But how did it happen?

There are two dynamics at play: a short squeeze and a gamma squeeze.

Survivorship Bias 101

History is written by the victors. But if we exclusively focus on these successes, we allow survivorship bias to distort our understanding of the world.

But what is "survivorship bias" and how does it work?

Here's Survivorship Bias 101!

👇👇👇

1/ First, a few definitions.

Survivorship bias is the logical error of concentrating on survivors (successes) and ignoring casualties (failures).

When we do so, we miss the true "base rates" of survival (the actual probability of success) and arrive at flawed conclusions.

2/ When we completely ignore failures, we lose our ability to correctly identify the differences between successes and failures.

Put simply, exclusively focusing on successes may actually inhibit our ability to identify (and replicate) the actions that led to such success.

3/ Cicero wrote on the topic over 2,000 years ago.

An atheist named Diagoras is shown portraits of people who prayed and were saved from death at sea as proof of God's existence.

Diagoras replies, "I see those who were saved, but where are those painted who were shipwrecked?"

4/ Cicero cuts right to the point - we cannot conclude that prayer led to being saved from the sea if we ignore those who prayed and then drowned.

Survivorship bias can lead to a deeply-flawed understanding of cause-and-effect relationships.

Let's look at some examples.

Warren Buffett is a treasure trove of wisdom.

But contrary to what you have been told, most of it has nothing to do with investing.

10 powerful lessons for life from the Oracle of Omaha:

Wait For A Juicy Pitch

“You don't have to swing at everything - you can wait for your pitch."

Life doesn’t reward you for the number of swings you take.

Focus on identifying the juiciest pitch.

When it comes, swing hard and don’t miss it.

Just Stop Digging

“The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging."

When things aren’t working, change course and try something different.

Be nimble. Be agile.

When you find yourself at the bottom of a hole, stop digging and climb out of it.

Exploit Disconnects

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

Seek out situations where there is a clear disconnect between price and value.

This applies to investing, but it’s more broadly a mental model for life.

Identify disconnects. Exploit them to your advantage.

Be Contrarian

“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”

Following the crowd is easy, but it can be a trap.

Learn to think independently. Come to your own decisions. Develop your own mental models.

Your unique perspectives are your superpower.

10 common errors in reasoning that undermine arguments:

Ad Hominem

Latin phrase for "to the person”—an attack of the individual rather than the argument.

Instead of addressing the argument and its merits, the offender attempts to refute the opposition on the basis of personal characteristics.

All-too-common in political debates.

The Sharpshooter

A man fires a gun at a barn wall and then paints a target around the tightest cluster of bullet holes to create the appearance of accuracy.

The offender selects and highlights evidence that supports the conclusion—while ignoring evidence that may refute it.

The Sunk Cost Fallacy

Sunk costs are economic costs already invested in an activity that cannot be recovered.

The fallacy is found in thinking that you should continue on the basis of all that you've put in—with no regard for future costs or likelihood of ultimate success.

The Red Herring

The kippered herring was a smelly fish used to distract hunting dogs while training them to focus on a scent.

"Red herring" is now synonymous with distraction.

The offender distracts from the argument with a seemingly related—but actually unrelated—point.

22 ideas from 2022.

The top 1% of ideas I encountered:

The Feynman Technique

Four steps to learn anything:

(1) Identify a topic
(2) Try to explain it to a child
(3) Study to fill in gaps
(4) Organize, convey, and review

True genius is the ability to simplify, not complicate.

Simple is beautiful.

Visualizing Time

1. Family time is limited—cherish it.

2. Friend time is limited—prioritize real ones.

3. Partner time is significant—never settle.

4. Children time is precious—be present.

5. Coworker time is significant—find energy.

6. Alone time is highest—love yourself.

Darkest Hour Friends

Most of your friends aren’t really your friends. They‘re just along for the ride when it’s fun or valuable.

The real ones are there for you when it’s neither—there for you in your darkest hour.

Treasure your Darkest Hour Friends.

Be one to someone else.

The Two-Day Rule

How to make new habits stick:

With whatever habit you're trying to build, never allow yourself to skip more than one day in a row.

Creates forward progress—but allows for the vagaries of life to enter without derailing momentum.