The Folly of Relying on Projections

Relying on projections when buying a business is viewed as intrinsically dangerous as they are often seen as misleading and unreliable. Warren Buffet and his hero Mark Twain avoided looking at projections, as they considered them to be worthless and potentially harmful. Buffet emphasizes the importance of forming one's own assessment of the future instead of relying on projections made by sellers or their agents, as it can be naive and unproductive. A poignant metaphor used is 'don't ask the barber whether you need a haircut' to highlight the folly of trusting projections provided by sellers of businesses.