Understanding Humans First

Trader Series

Insights from James Wynn (Part 1)

Personifying the Market

The human brain has developed an instinct during evolution to simplify complex phenomena into interpersonal relationships.

For example, when primitive humans heard rustling in the grass, their first reaction was not 'the wind is blowing the grass,' but rather 'there is someone there.'

This alertness once protected our ancestors from danger, but in the financial markets, it has become a cognitive flaw.

Novices often say 'the market is washing out,' 'the main players are luring in buyers,' 'the big players are targeting retail investors,' as if the market is a conscious, purposeful opponent.

This personifying mindset turns trading into an imaginary war.

When you believe the market is targeting you, stop-loss becomes not a rational risk control measure, but a humiliating surrender.

Traders start making decisions based on emotions rather than logic, interpreting random fluctuations as malicious manipulation, and viewing risk management as capitulation to the enemy.

With this mentality, traders may increase their bets to recover losses, ultimately leading to their own destruction.

In fact, the market is merely the sum of countless participants' buying and selling behaviors; it neither knows who you are nor cares about your existence.