One of my favorite websites is www.Dictionary.com. I reference it frequently, when I come upon a word I’m unfamiliar with, or want to verify the meaning of a word I plan to use. I also subscribe to their “Word of the Day,” which is usually a word I’ve never seen. A few weeks back the word was filiopietistic (fil-ee-oh-pahy-i-TIS-tik). It’s an adjective “pertaining to reverence of forebears or tradition, especially if carried to excess.” You may already be seeing where I’m going here.
Excessive reverence for tradition.
As in …
- Our devotion to, and love affair with, time-weighting
- Our need to use the (flawed) aggregate method to derive asset-weighted composite returns
- Our fixation on asset-weighted returns, rather than the much more meaningful equal-weighted variety.
Oh, well.
There’s a saying you may be familiar with:
“you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
Well, I’m 61, and I’m open to change and new tricks. Guys close to half my age refuse to budge.
And, to quote another saying, go figure.