I admit I have difficulties separating myself from the monkeys.

During trading strategy development, most of the time I have found that a ‘good’ strategy by many criteria can’t actually beat out the performance of the random trades by monkeys. So the question is what constitutes intelligence? Is performance the sole criterion that separates intelligence from non-intelligence? If not, what else? What can make me say, “ok monkeys, I can’t beat you in performance, but this thing makes me much more intelligent than you”?

Monkeys’ investments are hypothetical; no one has really actualized this hoary supposition. Your trades are measurable and real.

Et voila la difference.

Because you think too much.

No joke.

You look for an “edge,” i.e. an asymptotic probability weighted mean that is > 0.

The monkey – he doesn’t. He does not posses that great big brain that leads him to believe in the delusions (see previous line) that you do.

He is only concerned with a finite time horizon, one play (get the banana! Don’t worry about the small probaiblity of a chock, get the banana), in his case. You, on the other hand, have used your big brain to lure yourself into thinking you will be around tomorrow, something you take for granted.