Info!! Learning From Our Genius--And Our Idiocy

Sometimes, the best path to creative insights is a willingness to challenge one's premises.  Suppose, for example, nosotros don't define genius yesteryear a fixed IQ level.  That, of course, implies that some people are geniuses together with the bulk are not.  If nosotros cause down amongst the premise of multiple, intersecting intelligences, it opens the door to the possibility that everyone is a genius inward some respect.  I learned this vividly when I start began working amongst active daytraders inward Chicago.  Many of the successful traders were non intellectual inward the least, precisely they had a canny sense of rapid designing recognition that I, amongst my Ph.D., could non touch.  Similarly, I conduct keep seen real successful money managers Pb teams together with brand boneheaded decisions when it came to managing their squad members.  Managing working capital alphabetic lineament together with managing human beings stand upwards for dissimilar science sets; non all who are classically intelligent are emotionally or socially so.

There are 2 of import implications of the "multiple geniuses" perspective.  The start is that nosotros are almost probable to observe success if nosotros know our strengths, hone our strengths, together with play to our strengths.  Many thank you lot to his splendid summary of the Trading Psychology 2.0 book. One of the takeaways that he emphasized is that nosotros never observe success yesteryear discovering an border together with sticking to it religiously through life.  Rather, edges inward markets continually evolve and, similar all entrepreneurs, traders succeed yesteryear adapting to their evolving marketplaces.  The query of finding one's success equally a trader (or remaking one's success) begins amongst a to a greater extent than primal question:  In what respects am I a genius?  What am I genuinely expert at?  How tin laissez passer the axe I leverage those strengths inward the electrical flow marketplace environment?  It's our strengths that volition fuel potent performance, non our copying of others.  Perhaps the trader who feels stupid is similar the fish judging itself on tree climbing.  No amount of efforts to amend climbing volition assistance the fish; alone the determination to arrive the H2O together with swim.

That brings us to the second--and possibly to a greater extent than provocative--implication of the multiple geniuses view.  If all of us are geniuses inward some respect, all of us are likewise idiots inward some fashion.  We conduct keep our blind spots, our weaknesses, our flaws.  If it's our strengths that fuel our success, it's our weaknesses that tin laissez passer the axe derail us.  Indeed, sometimes it's excessive reliance on our strengths that makes us idiots!  I cry upwards 1 occasion inward which a real brilliant friend proceeded to response to his partner's distress yesteryear offering a detailed analysis of the situation.  It was an insightful explanation--and it was idiotic inward the context of the partner's require for caring together with reassurance.

It's non yesteryear coincidence that the subtitle of Ivanov's blog is "Reaction to intelligence is to a greater extent than of import than the intelligence itself".  Our ain genius together with idiocy is parallel to the wisdom together with madness of crowds.  The markets exercise forecast futurity economical developments--and they exercise then quite imperfectly.  The tech bubble some the plough of the millennium was a neat illustration inward point.  It was an idiotic overreaction--and it correctly anticipated a revolution inward computing together with online communications.  Observing reactions to intelligence together with other events together with parsing out what is wisdom together with what is idiocy is essential to investors together with traders alike.  Trend trading together with countertrend trading are flip sides of a unmarried coin, inward which marketplace movements cause down amongst insight together with halt amongst blindness.

Further Reading:  Emotional Volatility together with Market Returns
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Info!! Learning How Nosotros Learn: Maximizing Our Trading Environments

I recently wrote virtually the importance of sustaining a positive mindset past times learning from our setbacks.  Confidence comes, non from doing everything right, exactly from knowing that y'all tin larn from mistakes as well as expire ameliorate over time.

But how produce nosotros larn best?  Might it last the illustration that nosotros scrap every bit traders because nosotros neglect to play to our learning strengths?

Consider the average trading flooring at a proprietary trading firm, hedge fund, or bank.  What you'll probable run into is rows of traders at stations sitting next as well as surrounded past times multiple monitors.  Some monitors rail tidings events, or thence nautical chart markets, or thence follow prices of diverse instruments, or thence expire on on move on of email.

Can this really last the best learning surround for everyone?

For many traders, this surround is toxic.  It trains them to last distracted; it takes away from focused concentration.  It encourages groupthink.  It encourages superficial commentary/conversation as well as maximizes exposure to data--not necessarily the translation of information into useful information.

Is the learning surround ameliorate for the solo trader at home?  More multiple screens as well as potential information overload, amongst online chat substituting for the rows of traders.  

When I am next markets, I possess got the information sent to my spreadsheets.  In spreadsheets I tin actively manipulate as well as analyze the information inward ways non possible via charts on the screen.  While engaging inward those analyses, I'm non watching multiple screens.  I sit down lonely inward an business office as well as possess got no screens opened upward for chat.  I've learned that I larn best inward an surround that helps me focus--and, most importantly, that helps me sustain access to fresh ideas as well as intuitions.

Other traders are quite different.  They larn really good through give-and-take amongst other traders.  Still others larn past times reading query articles as well as gaining a big moving painting grasp of the market.  I similar to await at high frequency information as well as shifts inward those information to position emerging patterns inward private markets.  That is really dissimilar from the investor who develops a wide thesis as well as and then applies it to dissimilar markets.

Research tells us that inventiveness is a business office of 2 processes:  1) deep analysis of information as well as 2) synthesis of the information to run into novel connections as well as relationships.  The start procedure requires immersion inward data; the minute requires stepping dorsum from information for big moving painting reflection.  

Does your trading surround maximize true, focused immersion inward information?  Does it facilitate getting away from the trees inward gild to run into the forest?

You wouldn't alive inward a abode that was cluttered, noisy, as well as unclean; why bring that every bit your trading environment?

Further Reading:  Learning From Our Genius--And Our Idiocy
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