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21 " The next time you feel as though you must buy or sell a security, or that you are certain of where the financial markets are headed, take a moment to explain, in detail, the factual reasons why this is so. You’re likely to find that your enthusiasm has gotten the best of your brain and nothing brings them back into sync like having to teach. "
― , The Behavioral Investor
22 " Statman, Thorley and Vorkink found that investors absolutely “confuse brains with a bull market,” attributing their own success to skill and not the fact that a rising tide had lifted all boats.69 As a result, trading volumes were found to rise dramatically following good times and fall precipitously in bad times, effectively buying high and selling low. "
23 " Thales of Miletus was the founder of the school of natural philosophy, a contemporary of Aristotle and one of the seven sages of ancient Greece. Tasked with inscribing short words of wisdom onto the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Thales was asked what the hardest and most important task of humanity was, to which he replied, “To know thyself.” He was then asked the inverse and replied that “giving advice” was the thing least profitable to humankind that came very easily. "
24 " Odds are that many readers would have landed on DaVinci’s Mona Lisa, arguably the most iconic piece of art in the world. But did you know that what we now consider his masterwork was not too long ago considered a rather mediocre representation of his work? The story of how the Mona Lisa became the avatar of artistic excellence is one of criminal activity and intrigue that relies heavily on human psychology. In 1911, a handyman at the Louvre removed the painting from its place in the museum and took it home. The utter lack of security measures surrounding the Mona Lisa is a testament to its unextraordinary reputation at the time. It was over 24 hours until anyone even noticed that the painting was missing! But as newspapers started to report on the robbery, awareness of the painting increased as the mystery surrounding the heist became a full-blown media sensation. After it was recovered two years later, the Mona Lisa became the most popular painting in the museum, as interested patrons clamored to see what all of the fuss had been about. Only after the heist and in light of its newfound popularity did the Mona Lisa earn the reverence and esteem of the art world. We imagine that the Mona Lisa is popular because it is so special, but in reality, it is seen as special precisely because it first became popular. "