Are You An Academician Or Practitioner?

I was watching the re-run of the "Matrix Reloaded" last night. There was scene where the Councillor was talking with Neo about the many things he probably do not know and understand. While he know what some of the machines do (the good things) for them, he do not understand and will never comprehend how it works. Nevertheless, he did not stop the machines from doing what they are supposed to do (e.g. purifying water).

This reminded me of some of my observations in attending courses and in handholding groups of novice traders. In trading, some of the concepts and indicators can be pretty complex to understand. However, what is important is to know how to apply it. Some novice traders are too bogged down trying to understand a concept before they want to apply what they had learned. e.g. some try to understand "Black-Scholes" formula - at the expense of losing the opportunity to make money.

As a car driver, I do not know how the engine of a car really works. But all I need to know to drive a car safely is to know how to use the ABCs (Accelerator, Brake and Clutch) at the right moment. As a trading practitioner, I do not need to remember and know exactly the Black Scholes formula. What is important is to know how to make money from the application of the formula.

As a trading academician, you need to know the formula well, etc. You may even see a compelling need to develop a new indicator or a formula (after years of trading in the market).

So as a novice trader, do you want to be a Trading Practitioner or jump to be a Trading Academician?

I choose to be a Trading Practitioner first (making my money). Whether I want to be a Trading Academician later in life is yet to be seen (not likely for me though). My coaching and handholding sessions are more geared at the practical aspects rather than the academic aspects.

Cheers !

PersianCat (Millionaire-in-progress)