The stories of individuals got you closer to the truth in finance.

That what really mattered in finance was not the numbers and not the data.

It was just how can you understand what's going through people's heads?

And the only way to really understand that was with stories because the

behavioral aspect of investing you can't reduce to a statistic. You can't just say here's the formula,

go do it. You have to understand the behavior.

And you can't teach behavior even to very smart people

because you can't, it's not a formula.

So I think the only way to understand it is through a story.

I'm Mary Long and that's Morgan Housell,

longtime fool contributor and the best-selling author of the psychology of money.

Dylan Lewis caught up with Morgan to talk about his new book, Same As Ever, A Guide to What Never

Changes, which is out on November 7.

They also discuss the downside of having fewer economic

downturns, reasonably optimistic takes on the year's biggest business stories,

and how to find infinite opportunity. I want to kind of immediately get into one of the last things in the book

that you mentioned.

If you don't mind me going to the last page.

As you wrap, you talk a little bit about how

you had a concerted effort about a decade ago

to start reading more history

and start reading fewer forecasts and I'm curious just given the nature of the book

...