Most of my conversations with Wang are at the principle level; he sees the rhyme of history and puts the particulars we speak of in that context. “Unattainable goals appeal to heroes,” he once told me. “Capable people are those who sit there worrying about the future. The unwise are those who worry about nothing. If conflicts got resolved before they became acute, there wouldn’t be any heroes.” His advice has helped me in my planning for Bridgewater’s future. For example, when I asked him about checks and balances of power, he pointed to Julius Caesar’s overthrow of the Roman Senate and
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