We’re all quantitative traders, but we still have gut feelings. The body has a self awareness of its internal conditions. The stomach has more bacteria than human cells. The stomach has more seratonin receptors than the brain. When nervous you can feel the butterflies. You get gut feelings about things that govern conscious decisions. I have a theory that dreams are the sleeping brain receiving feelings from the body and stomach during the night. Gut feelings are distinct from the amygdalian flight impulses. I’ve never heard of any studies or information about gut feelings other than anecdotes. How often has a gut feeling saved you, or how often does it lead to wrong decisions?

Dr. Janice Dorn a former list member, wrote a book, in which she and her co-author argue that your gut feeling is not programmed for market risk, but market risk will give your gut the opposite reaction than you should take. When I tried trading the stronger my gut was scared the more I knew I should trade and vice-a-versa the more passive I was about my position the more I knew I should be out. Rather than honing in on this “skill”, I would suggest a more palatable method, nerves were my undoing as a day trader. I suspect Dr. Brett S. would say something similar.