《股票作手回忆录·第三章·初到纽约·对赌行的赢法为何失灵》第1节
It takes a man a long time to learn all the lessons of all his mistakes. They say there are two sides to everything. But there is only one side to the stock market; and it is not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side. It took me longer to get that general principle fixed firmly in my mind than it did most of the more technical phases of the game of stock speculation. I have heard of people who amuse themselves conducting imaginary operations in the stock market to prove with imaginary dollars how right they are. Sometimes these ghost gamblers make millions. It is very easy to be a plunger that way. It is like the old story of the man who was going to fight a duel the next day. His second asked him, “Are you a good shot?” “Well,” said the duelist, “I can snap the stem of a wineglass at twenty paces,” and he looked modest. “That’s all very well,” said the unimpressed second. “But can you snap the stem of the wineglass while the wineglass is pointing a loaded pistol straight at your heart?” With me I must back my opinions with my money. My losses have taught me that I must not begin to advance until I am sure I shall not have to retreat. But if I cannot advance I do not move at all. I do not mean by this that a man should not limit his losses when he is wrong. He should. But that should not breed indecision. All my life I have made mistakes, but in losing money I have gained experience and accumulated a lot of valuable don’ts. I have been flat broke several times, but my loss has never been a total loss. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here now. I always knew I would have another chance and that I would not make the same mistake a second time. I believed in myself.
注释摘要
这段文字是全书开宗明义的哲学宣言，也是主人公用他年轻生命里最惨烈的亏损换来的第一块基石。在1900年代初那个投机狂潮席卷美国的年代，普通人走进华尔街，脑袋里装的都是简单的二元对立：行情要么涨，要么跌；自己要么是多头，要么是空头。这种非黑即白的认知恰恰是人性中最天真的陷阱，它让人把自己的面子、立场和预测捆绑在一起，好像看多就是自己的阵营，看空就是敌人的阵营。…