As of 2010, the UCSD Bioengineering graduate department was #1.

The strength of UCSD in bioengineering, plus their other strengths (chemistry, theoretical chemistry, biology, physics, math...), is part of what explains San Diego's strength in life sciences industry.

I went to UCSD about 10 years ago, and have lived in the area since.

If we're talking about new faculty, who probably want to buy a house and may want to live near campus, I'd agree that UCSD's location is problematic financially. They seem to be able to attract solid faculty at least in engineering (the people I know), so they must be figuring this out somehow. Certainly some professors are living in small condos who would be living in big houses in the midwest…

However, most grad students while I was there managed well enough. If you don't have kids, and are OK with roommates, you can find places near campus or a short drive away (e.g. Pacific Beach) that are plenty affordable.

I don't really believe that any grad students avoid UCSD because of the cost of living - in a place where you'll only spend a few years and then probably leave.

You forgot its top party school status... UCSB was an all around awesome college experience.

UCSB has 3 Physics Nobel prizes, and 6 total laureates

http://www.ucsb.edu/nobel/

Definitely one of the lesser Nobels though, given that it was awarded for an achievement in engineering, not physics.

Came to recommend the same. The great thing is the book isn't built around a 'one neat trick' approach that so much financial literature takes, but instead tries to aid in building up useful mental models -- that just happen to be applicable to financial problems.

I have it and it's great. At first you think it's just some arrogant old man who is full of himself rambling on, then you realize you're dealing with a genius, and you can't put it down. The thing that resonated with me is his multiple mental models approach to life. He basically feels that one just needs a basic college education and the ability to apply the most important concepts from each course in a combinatorial way, and that if you specialize too much, you're likely to make an error (to the man with a hammer, everything is a nail). Lots of other stuff on human error.

The Almanac also pointed me to "Influence" by Robert Cialdini, which is one of Munger's most highly recommended books.

That is the quickest summary I can give from my ipad

Munger and Buffet both have a remarkable set of experiences. My understanding of reading about both of them (and the book) is that they have a deep understanding of human nature, which is really remarkable. If you read stuff from them through their share holder letters and such, you'll find that they've been saying the same things for literally decades. Which means that they've figured out the core of human nature, figured out how to keep themselves sane and figured out how to lead a good life relatively early on. Besides Munger is very witty, and you crack up quite a bit reading the book.