Would you have a few minutes for some slightly deeper thoughts? Do you trust your memory? Your memories are unreliable and often flat-out wrong, especially when it comes to remembering how you felt at a certain time or place.…
If your answer is yes, you are an honest chap. If your answer is no, either you are lying to yourself or your name must be Nobody (“Nobody is perfect”). Or you are a candidate running for president—the best any country ever had. I would…
“Whoa, wait a minute,” I can hear you protesting, “Dude, what are you saying? No way! That might apply to you, but definitely not to me. I am special!” Face it, my friend, you’re nothing special, because the mediocrity principle simply states so. The universe…
Mostly, our herd conformity is a good thing and it’s one of the reasons that societies are able to function (legal system, driving, etc). Nevertheless, watch out for what you step into when you follow the herd. Herd behavior occurs when investors follow the…
In my last post I mused over Forecasts and those guys who come up with them. In my little research I came across so many noteworthy facts and statements on that subject that I decided to collate them in a…
einhundert – 100 – one hundred The other day I have shared with you this gigantic Cognitive Bias Codex. It contains 189 different biases. So far I have written about 100 biases that make you do dumb things with your…
Emotions are the main cause and driving force in the stock markets. Last week I shared some thoughts why understanding our mind as a tool that tries to live in an uncertain world is an important challenge. Because the brain…
This trip is for the stock traders among you. What kind of annual return are you aiming for? 30% or 20% or 10%? What’s your number? Humans, and especially those of the male persuasion, have a bias called The Lake…
Last week I wrote about expensive Mutual Funds / Unit Trusts and their cheaper (and better) alternatives called Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). You still don’t buy it. Ok, that might be my fault because I am simply not convincing enough…
The desire to feel like we’re in control seems to be a very basic human need. Are you in control? Do you like to control your environment? Well? Were you successful in that endeavour? C’mon, be honest. Because—Control—is an illusion! Let me give you an example…