Hmmm, very interesting take. I'm passably familiar with the sunk-cost fallacy, and am willing to believe I am engaging in that somewhat. On the other hand, I will also readily acknowledge that I don't have the skills or psychological make-up needed for trading. For me, recognizing and avoiding that disadvantage works almost like a real advantage in maximizing my own performance. I think you could also be down-playing the extent to which leverage exacerbates the downside of market cycles. Many sell because of panic, sure, but margin calls are a big part of what takes that bad situation and drives it to that painful point where you wonder, "who the fuck is selling at these levels?" I think you're right about many people aspiring to be Buffett-esque, sometimes without understanding Buffett fully. I have a great deal of respect for his rational approach to investing, but I have also recognized that I am not Warren Buffett and I should not try to be Warren Buffett, or beat him at his own game. Likewise for the first part of this comment on timing the market; there are thousands of brilliant technical analysts who can beat me at their game. Why would I bet my money on my ability to outguess them in the short term? What's next? Trying to dunk on Shaq? Buffett is a shrewd, occasionally ruthless businessman, who was practically born and raised for investing. As a friend put it, he's the Tiger Woods of investing, if Tiger Woods had a golf club for an arm (back when Tiger was still the champ). I guess what I'm saying is that it's important to think outside your own portfolio and consider all the other participants in the market. Ask, how successful have other people been in timing the market historically? Is there anything that makes me fundamentally different from those who failed? Finally, full disclosure: I'm pretty young and new to investing, and haven't seen the psychology of a market change like it has these past few months. This has been fascinating for me to watch, but I don't have the experience needed to navigate and capitalize on it. Also, empirical data suggests that those who do attempt to navigate it usually come out behind over the long run.