Duality -> Integration -> Alpha

Philosophy of investing in 343 words

The king is logic, and his dominion is the left hemisphere—linearity rules. However, financial markets are anything but linear.

The game's name is integration, shifting perspectives from left-hemisphere-dominated to left-right unison.

Gaining experience in the markets (aka doing stupid things), I realized the importance of duality. We have two options: obeying one of the hemispheres or integrating both.

Guess which way is the authentic way.

To clarify, the right-hemisphere-led individuals are not better than the left-hemisphere ones. On the endmost sides of the spectrum, we have too much reasoning or imagination at the expense of the other.

Sterile logic kills higher-order thinking. On the other hand, unharnessed creativity shatters coherent reasoning. A long time ago, I heard we must possess balls of steel and a heart of fire as a market participant. Be logical and, analytical, and creative, and intuitive.

To walk, we need two legs. So, why do we think we can play the game with only one hemisphere?

I see investing as an integration between:

This is my investing philosophy compressed into two columns and 15 rows. Simple as that.

It all starts with the Greeks, and I am not talking about options and shipping.

Friedrich Nietzsche introduced the concept of Apollo vs. Dionysus in his book, "The Birth of Tragedy." This dichotomy represents two fundamental forces in human nature, embodied by the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus.

Apollo represents order and rationality, individuality and clarity, logic and reason. Dionysus represents chaos and irrationality, unity and intoxication, intuition and imagination.

Moving from the top to the bottom, we can see the manifestations of those two forces, Apollo and Dionysus.

Think about the part and the whole, the future and the past, the point and the flow.

The integration is easier said than done. A complete unison between left and right is (un) attainable for us mere mortals. Nevertheless, we do not have a choice on our path as (potentially) successful investors.

The road is the goal, as they say.

PS: Wishing you all a year full of wisdom and adventures.