About

I have started the life long journey of seeking wisdom, by trying to master the best of what other people have already figured out.

If you are new to my blog and wondering where to start reading, you can start here – Latticework of mental models. This contains links to all the big ideas from multiple disciplines.

Warren Buffett once said

I just sit in my office and read all day.”. When asked how to get smarter, Buffett once held up stacks of paper and said “read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge builds up, like compound interest.

It was an eye opener for me. I am making sure that I at least read one book every week. Click here to view my online book shelf.

69 thoughts on “About”

  2. Jana, it would be really interesting to have a list of books you’ve read and found useful. I know we can get a good idea by reading through the posts, but it would be useful to have a quick reference list (like you have done with the superb mental model list).

    Especially regarding good books related to your professional area of expertise (engineering and software), for those of us who come from a more humanities based education.

    Thanks for your great blog 🙂

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    • Thanks. I will continue writing as there are so many things to learn.

      Regards,
      Jana

  5. Jana – this is fantastic. I just came across your blog accidentally, and realised that these are same subjects that I have been studying/learning over many years. I think your blog simply highlights the following statement from Newton – “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulder of giants”. All the best and keep writing. Thx

  6. The best blog ever,for a fellow life long learner like me
    There are not enough words in my vocabulary to describe how awesome I feel, about finding a blog like THIS!

  7. Hi Jana,
    I have been following your blogs recently, I find it very insightful with deep analysis. I am a beginner on this front, Looking for your guidance on where to start, I did look at your bookshelf, Do you recommend any specific book or links to get started. I want to get a good understanding of the Technical Analysis for stock valuations etc.
    Thank you.

    Regards
    Bala

  9. Hi Janav

    Let me just congratulate you for the wonderful work which you are doing. It is always easier said than done. And the fact that you are enlightening others during the process is true wisdom (on your part). I have also been a student of Sanjay Bakshi and since then (early 2013) have been on this path of learning. I have a specific question for you which i would like to write across to you.(not in public)..

    Request you to get back with your email.

    I can be reached at nikhildhar.mdi@gmail.com

  12. Dear Jana,

    I tried to get ‘100 to 1 in the stock market’ book from all sources but it seems all online stores like Amazon said it was out of stock.

    May you please e-mail me a soft copy if available. It would be great help!!!

    Thank you,

    Sivakumar

  13. Dear Jana …Thanks a TON for your wonderful posts . I came to know about your blog through Mr Vishalji . My sincere wishes to you and hope you keep enlightening us as always …

  16. Hi Jana.
    I have a general question. Have you written or come across any articles about India taxation on stock market investments for NRI’s. I have a trading account with sharekhan since 2005 but my current status has changed to NRI now, so do I need to update my account. Please share your thoughts on this.

    Regards
    Bala

    • AFAIK the indian tax laws remains the same. If you hold on to a security for more than one year you don’t pay any taxes. Anything less than that you are taxed at a rate between 16-17% and it’s deducted at source.

      Regards,
      Jana

  19. And so I’ve found you… Was great meeting you and getting to know you in silence. I’ll check in regularly with your blog. Good luck with it and with your upcoming lecture. ( :

    • Adam,

      Same here. Glad to see you comment in my blog. Looking forward to interact more with you in future.

      Regards,
      Jana

  20. Excellent content, well done sir. Your “Latticework of mental models” is currently bookmarked on all devices.

  22. Good one sir. I read all the share you keep giving us on Pocket and they are all compounding my understanding. In one article you wrote on Nestle that your child consumed lot of Cerelac and if you would have bought the stock of Nestle you would have made money then, I read that many great investors including Sunil Sighania bought GSK Healthcare after his son had an injection that was for Hepatitis and made it cost free in a few months. Its in all you great investors mind I guess. Keep posing and making us wiser sir.

  23. Pingback: Value Investing – an introduction – Srini's Thoughts

  24. Hi Jana, You do a terrific job of learning and then sharing what you learn! Many thanks. Quick question – How do you make the time? I’m assuming that you have a full time job in the software industry that can take more than 9 hours a day, a family and a house to take care of. Based on these assumptions it’s amazing what you have managed to accomplish. Look forward to your answer. Thanks again!

    • Nikhil,

      If you can figure out a way to give yourself 2 hours every day then it should be possible. Simple idea is to wake up early and focus on your self improvement. Over the weekends do this for 4 hours.

      Regards,
      Jana

  25. Hi Jana,

    How to devote time between reading a balance sheet and reading books. For me as a beginner, reading a balance sheet consumes a lot of time. Secondly being into profession i am not able to devote much time to reading balance sheet but yes books can be managed while travelling. But i think without reading balance sheet and applying the knowledge gained through reading is all waste ” Use it or lose it”. You have mentioned above 2 hour daily on improvement but number crunching in the balance sheet itself takes a lot of time. Your recommendation would be highly appreciated.

    • Hi Manish,

      Spend more time on analyzing companies. Over time you will get better at it. At that time you can devote some time for reading books. This will enable you to connect theory and practice.

      Regards,
      Jana

  29. Great blog, Jana. Thank you so much. I am using “A Gentle And Practical Introduction To Value Investing” as a roadmap for learning how to invest.
    One question: Have you read any austrian economics book? You should read authors like Hayek or Mises. Check out Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazzlitt as a starting point.

    • Thanks, Luis. I will take a look at the books written by Hayek and Mises.

      Regards,
      Jana

  31. Hello there
    I hava an important question regarding this page please.
    https://janav.wordpress.com/2013/10/27/tf-idf-and-cosine-similarity/
    I did the same steps. however, when I reached to step3(Tf*IDF) and have the same schedule, I have a question. May I make each vector represnts one term. In other words, may I represent each vector as one term in respect to all documents and then can I apply cosine similarity between these vectors when I have a query ? or this is impossible?
    please answer me ASAP. Thanks

  35. Hi Jana, I got your contact recently via another investor. I am in San Jose and was wondering if there is a group of people who meet to discuss Indian equities, that’s when I was directed to you. Please let me know if there is one such group here. Thanks.

    • Hi Nimesh,

      Thanks for reaching out. We don’t have a group that talks only about Indian equities.

      Regards,
      Jana

      • Thanks for response. Not specifically Indian equities only. i am looking for more investment related mindset that helps each other understand and invest better. Is there any such group or just a bunch of people who get together and talk casually? I would very much like to meet them.

  36. Hi Jana, really loved your book a gentle and practical introduction to value investing…It gave me so much so information about value investing and behavioural science. Keep writing… this really help many people like me who is interested in investing and life.

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