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More men are addicted to the 'crack cocaine' of the stock market

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Re: More men are addicted to the 'crack cocaine' of the stock market

#201

Post by llamaimperative »

in-pursuit wrote: post #129
spoonfeeder006 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whats the difference between "idiots have to be scammed" vs "people who can't fend off a knife fighter while en route to the grocery store have to be stabbed"? Some people are gullible, or trusting. This doesn't mean they don't have other gifts, or most of all good intentions. Applying an evolutionary pressure against people who can't fend off knife attackers is ultimately useless for human wellbeing The real issue i…

There’s obviously a huge difference between a scam and a violent attack. The person being scammed doesn’t ever lose their agency and willingly participates. That’s very different from a knife attack, where the victim would leave at every moment if possible.

This all ultimately boils down to "the attacks that I believe I'm immune to are okay, the attacks that I'm not immune to are not okay."

The victim in your knife attack had the opportunity to leave by never going to the grocery store. The fact they couldn't foresee that attack is solely because they lacked the information or cognitive ability to foresee it, just like an 80 IQ gambler with a Draftkings account lacks the information/cognitive ability to foresee the attack on him.

So many people walk around with the implicit ethical system that 80 IQers don't deserve to have a decent life in the modern world. That is obviously despicable once it's stated explicitly.

Re: More men are addicted to the 'crack cocaine' of the stock market

#202

Post by dismalaf »

dennis_jeeves2 wrote: post #171
dismalaf wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone with a young child, it definitely feels purposeful. Also the opposite of a chore, it's lots of fun and what I look forward to after a day of work. And I'm someone who, for most of my adult life, thought I'd be childfree...

Well I've heard people say this. What about the ones that regret it? I know of one personal acquaintance of mine who confided that he regrets having his kid. He would under normal social circumstances not mention it, for obvious reasons. The problem is that it's a one-way street if you decide to have a child. Now if only one had an option to 'trial-run-before-one-commits' that would be ideal. I suspect (but not sure)…

Well, I do think children is maybe idealized a little. I'm probably pretty happy because I went into it having heard all of the negatives, decided I was ok with it and came out pleasantly surprised. Also too many people do it because of societal or family pressure.

Also some people will just always be unhappy. The grass is always greener syndrome.

Re: More men are addicted to the 'crack cocaine' of the stock market

#204

Post by JKCalhoun »

NelsonMinar wrote: post #197

Note this article isn't about investing, it's about gambling. It doesn't mention Robinhood's role in promoting addictive gambling behaviors. How much has it changed since this 2020 article? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/technology/robinhood-risk...

> After funding his account with $15,000 in credit card advances

Wow. Stop right there.

Re: More men are addicted to the 'crack cocaine' of the stock market

#205

Post by jondwillis »

At this point I’m just watching a slightly younger cohort of men repeat all of my worst digital addiction mistakes like getting inserted into the online video game -> toxic online behavior pipeline (or worse, fascism), ideologies (Musk), crypto and options gambling (thanks Reddit a la 2013 for all of the crypto communities and WSB) too much computer (ouch, my neck, arms and back.)

I’m not doing particularly well, especially mentally, despite having tons of opportunity and successes. Worried about the younger cohorts, but I guess that is a tale as old as time.

Re: More men are addicted to the 'crack cocaine' of the stock market

#206

Post by darkwizard42 »

kristianp wrote: post #118
inopinatus wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once asked my wife, "what is my purpose in life?", and she has been cracking dolphin jokes at my expense ever since.

Is that a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy reference?

The original joke I think is a play on porpoise and purpose.

There is another great skit from Rick and Morty on the topic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7HmltUWXgs).

Re: More men are addicted to the 'crack cocaine' of the stock market

#207

Post by rchaud »

hindsightbias wrote: post #140

What’s old is new again. If you worked in a tech office in the late 90’s, every other guy had Ameritrade or similar up in a window. It was the gaming/porn you could get away with at work. Dot com roasted them all.

Wasn't it still $10/trade back then? That adds user friction, which discourages the gambling aspect much more than "free" trades provided by Robinhood (free as in they'll sell your order flow data to third parties).

Re: More men are addicted to the 'crack cocaine' of the stock market

#208

Post by siltcakes »

jondwillis wrote: post #205

At this point I’m just watching a slightly younger cohort of men repeat all of my worst digital addiction mistakes like getting inserted into the online video game -> toxic online behavior pipeline (or worse, fascism), ideologies (Musk), crypto and options gambling (thanks Reddit a la 2013 for all of the crypto communities and WSB) too much computer (ouch, my neck, arms and back.) I’m not doing particularly well, esp…

Are they also drinking tons of soda? I can’t believe how much I used to drink. I don’t touch any drink with sugar (other than lactose/latte) nowadays. It’s so disgusting, don’t know how I ever did it in the first place.

Re: More men are addicted to the 'crack cocaine' of the stock market

#209

Post by Apocryphon »

marcusverus wrote: post #181
jaco6 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Child rearing is a possible solution—it is our evolutionary “purpose” to reproduce, after all, and most people in the developed world today aren’t doing it.

This is the best answer. From a strictly rational perspective, parenthood makes little sense. The negatives are obvious and intimidating, while the benefits (which are not rational but instinctual) are less clear. Happily, oxytocin is a helluva drug. It will rearrange your universe in the course of an hour, such that all of its substance revolves around a splotchy, squinty little ape. I highly recommend it.

And then the sleepless nights of screaming will twist it up again. Postpartum depression can affect any gender when it comes to sleep deprivation.

Re: More men are addicted to the 'crack cocaine' of the stock market

#210

Post by JKCalhoun »

> They expect the problem to worsen. The stock market has climbed 23% this year...

The problem will resolve itself if (when?) the market crashes.

I remember the run up to the dot-com bust. I was too much of a bumpkin at the time to even know how I would trade stocks — but I listened to an acquaintance go on and on about how much he was making on the market.

At the time I guessed that he was much smarter than me — that it would take me years to become as investment-savvy as this guy was.

In time, especially after the next bubble in 2008 when I had become more savvy, I came to see this guy as having been in the market at a time when even a monkey throwing darts could look like Warren Buffet.

So too I think are many of today's investors. (I would include myself but perhaps not: I have been won over by Boglism, a balanced portfolio, infrequent trading, etc.)

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