Bab 16 What factors contribute to the success of traders?(1)
Centuries ago, people held the geocentric theory, believing the sun and moon revolved around the Earth. It seemed evident from the sky's observation, and this belief became a well-established system. However, as technology advanced, astronomers discovered that the Earth rotates around the sun, challenging the existing knowledge systems. Humans realized that their intelligence was inadequate to comprehend nature's complexities, and they were merely insignificant beings. Despite this, with technological progress, people have become more arrogant, believing they can control everything, including their success. Nowadays, many people attribute success solely to human free will. For instance, they believe that overweight people can lose weight by merely eating less and exercising more, and those living challenging lives are lazy. However, is this genuinely the case? What are the actual factors behind successful traders?
From an evolutionary standpoint, the existence of humans is not a given. Had the environment been even slightly different, we could have evolved into entirely different species or not existed at all. The world is inherently random, and while hard work can create opportunities, it does not ensure success. As the saying goes, man proposes, but God disposes. Most of our accomplishments are determined by random variables. And if you still believe that you can control everything, let me offer an example: Alexander Fleming stumbled upon penicillin by accident. While conducting an experiment, he forgot to cover a petri dish with bacteria, which resulted in contamination by penicillium mold. This was a chance occurrence, as Fleming was typically very meticulous. However, this accidental factor set the course for human development over the next 50 years. After discovering this phenomenon, Fleming began to consider penicillin's medical applications, as he was a doctor during World War I and was appalled by the number of infections causing casualties on the battlefield. This background influenced his thought process, which was another chance factor. In fact, two other scientists, physicist John Tyndall and Andre Gratia, also discovered the same phenomenon during their experiments, but did not recognize its potential medical application. After Fleming's discovery, a team of biochemists, led by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain at the University of Oxford's Dunn School of Pathology, spent 13 years transforming Fleming's discovery into a practical and feasible technological product - penicillin. The emergence of penicillin saved countless lives, but, as we mentioned, it was the combination of all the accidental factors that led to this outcome. This is what Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls the rule of jump development in the world.
If you were to ask me how to become a successful trader, my answer would be that it requires a convergence of chance events at a single moment in time. This may sound disheartening, but I truly believe it to be true. Hard work is only a small factor in the equation. The cognitive and technical abilities of great traders do not differ significantly from those of average traders, with a 99% similarity in most aspects. However, that 1% of chance occurrences is what sets them apart. This is comparable to the evolution of humans from chimpanzees, where bipedalism was the result of a series of unlikely and random events influenced by the environment, such as climate change. The emergence of humans was akin to rolling many dice, as humans and chimpanzees share about 98% of the same DNA, but it is that 2% genetic difference that places humans at the top of the food chain.
Nevertheless, I believe that it is more important to first lower our expectations of our own achievements. It is not necessary to become the greatest trader, and not everyone needs to recognize or approve of you. The ability to live in society through trading skills is sufficient. However, if you still aspire to become a great trader, I can offer some advice. But I must clarify that without a precise definition of what a "great trader" entails, my advice is based on my understanding of these words. Additionally, the usefulness of my advice depends on your own luck, which I will elaborate on later in this section.
To begin with, it is crucial not to get caught up in the pursuit of a perfect trading strategy. Throughout history, there have always been individuals who become overly obsessed with their tactics and methods, yet often fail to achieve success. When we observe the world,/>/>/>/>/>
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