MICHEL PIREU: Failure is all very well in rug collecting, but trading requires outright success
When you’ve blown your life savings in the market and have nothing left to play with, you can’t keep playing
In an article titled “The hidden world of failure”, Barry Ritholtz argues that survivorship bias colours everything — overstated mutual fund returns, artwork, fine wines and other alternative asset classes.
“The fascinating aspect of this is how truly hidden it is,” says Ritholtz. “The successful products we use every day are the result of initial failure and subsequent improvement. The iterative process consists of repeated failed attempts that are hidden from view. You probably don’t think about all the little parts that make up any product, nor how each has slowly evolved over time. Your mobile phone, car, house, sneakers — really any product you use goes through this process.”..
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