Links, you're probably right in a lot of cases. I am extremely methodical, been researching trading while doing very little trading for 6 or 7 years. I wrestled with the ego problem for a long time and I concluded that research is the only answer to ego, fear, greed, etc. Ego would be tied in with defending a belief system, my only belief system regarding trading is that I'm going with what works and I won't know for sure what works without a lot of my own research. I can find somebody that will contradict my opinion on any and all things that I have found that work and I in turn have egotistically contradicted others when they were right. Not properly researching an idea is the most egotistical thing I can do.
Academics are raised to sit in a classroom, not question things very much and spit out what they were taught to spit out at the right time. They get rewarded for that with grades and a career. Their ego is very much involved in what they conclude in any area. If they go against the prevailing ideas their career is very likely to suffer. I have found that doing my own research has brought me to conclusions that contradict my own beliefs and generally held beliefs quite a few times, I'm really glad when that happens because I don't have to answer to anybody really, I just want to make $ and get on with life.
Max