Orangutan Effect

From Weekly I/O#35


Orangutan Effect: If you explain your ideas to an orangutan, the primate might be confused, but you will think more clearly in the process.

Article: Berkshire Hathaway 2022 Shareholder Letter

In the latest Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder letter, Warren Buffet mentioned how teaching and writing have helped him develop and clarify his ideas. His partner, Charlie Munger, called this phenomenon the orangutan effect:

"If you sit down with an orangutan and carefully explain to it one of your cherished ideas, you may leave behind a puzzled primate, but will yourself exit thinking more clearly."


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