Michael Burry on time preference

If you are considering a career on Wall Street or in Washington, DC, you should be aware of the social proof that operates there.  This is that many, if not most, people will be doing questionable things that obviously make money and obviously earn respect from common peers.  If you find yourself in such a place, I would ask you to consider a rule I learned as a physician: first, do no harm.  Besides, life is not that short.  Life is well and long enough for you to regret any activity or habit involving exchange of long-term risk for short-term benefit.  This is what many, if not most, Americans did during the refinancing and consumption boom of last decade and it was what our government did in egging on the boom.  This is also the gospel of drunk drivers and cheating spouses.  Of course, when you encounter the opposite: the short-term risk exchanged for long-term benefit, consider hitting that button again and again and again.

~ Michael Burry, "Dr. Michael J. Burry at UCLA Economics Commencement 2012," YouTube.com, 18:45 mark, June 20, 2012