You Don’t Need to Understand It (Yet)

Dear friend,

I gotta tell you a quick story about a guy named Jim Simons.

He’s not your typical Wall Street shark. He was a math professor. A total numbers guy.

In the '80s, he started a hedge fund called Renaissance Technologies, and built what many call “the machine”—

Not a physical machine, but a system.

A massive, complex trading model powered by data, algorithms, and math.

It became the most successful fund in history.

We’re talking ridiculous returns—so consistent and so high, they had to close the fund to outsiders.

But here’s the part that I want to write about:

When Simons first started using the machine, it told him to buy more of a particular stock.

The math he had done said the exact opposite.

His instinct? “That’s wrong. I should sell.”

But the machine kept flashing: buy, buy, buy.

So, even though he didn’t understand why—he listened.

He placed the bet. And made a fortune.

That moment changed everything.

Because what he realized—and what most of us forget—is that you don’t have to understand something for it to work.

In the beginning, all you need is proof.

Find something that works. Try it. Watch it work.

Then, and only then, will your belief start to lock in.

Then you'll want to double down. Then you'll want to understand it.

But the first step?

Just trust the system.

If it works, let it work.

Understanding can come later.

But results?

Those speak first.

Don’t delay movement due to your inability to “get” something.

– Adrian