Quote from Zr1Trader:
I've always asked, What defines "smart" ? An auto mechanic may know 10x more than you about cars but you may know how to make 10x more money. Does that make you smarter? A phd in physics or Warren Buffet? A bum on the street who has $2.25 and lives a "free" life or the Joneses down the street with a 400k mortgage working for the man?
Quote from RCG Trader:
People often speak of race, when it is actually about class.
Your 80k genius may have parents who are from the working class. If he took this indoctrination to heart, he does not know how to be free. It is a foreign concept. Literally.
While at ET I have come to understand very clearly why 5% control 40% of the wealth. Most individuals that you know come from a certain stock, and that stock was educated in a certain way. There is no getting around this.
Quote from ksmetana:
It is not everyone's goal in life to play the markets. Some people wonder more about the world around them than figuring out ways to rob others.
Quote from logic_man:
you simply won't be right 90% of the time. Many people who are used to that can't adapt.
Quote from J.Joseph:
Very true. Trading is an emotional game, not necessarily an intellectual game. The way I see it, the formula for winning is (emotional stability) x (the system you use). Let's say the system represents 100% on a scale of 1-100. No matter how emotionally stable, the limit of the trader is the limit of the system. On the other hand, the best system in the world, when used by someone unstable may only work at a 5% capacity.
Emotional instability comes from things like needing to be right, needing to feel smart, needing to prove yourself, etc. And those needs have a hugely detrimental impact on usefulness of one's IQ.
IQ may solve problems, but it doesn't solve implementation.