In other words; the benefit of a proven methodology, a trusted mentor, an uncompromising belief in one's own determination to succeed in what some would call 'crossing the river' from unprofitability to profitability.
This cocksucker "watched them drown?" He couldn't bring himself to fish them out of the water once they gave up? This Curt Richter a former nazi prison guard by chance?
Has nothing to do with hope and everything to do with already being subjected to the water their body has adapted for greater endurance. It's the same reason swimmers dip into the water for a race. Another for breath holding techniques they find if you put your hands in water a few minutes before you'll be able to hold your breath longer. It tricks your body into preconditioning for what's to come.
" What doesnt kill you makes you stronger" philosopher Nietzsche I guess in his time there was no Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or science ignored it.
I'm not sure that's the right conclusion from the experiment. Hopelessness is what kills the rats. Their ability to withstand their fate longer is (false) hope based on past events. The experiment didn't repeat a 3rd time.... would the rats have lasted even longer knowing they'd eventually be saved, or would they have given up earlier knowing they'd be thrown back in the sink? Translating the experiment to trading is dubious. We apply methods and intuition to rationalize unpredictable events, hoping to make money in the process. Thankfully we aren't thrown in a live or die situation, even if suicides are sometimes reported. Are rats commiting suicide when giving up after 15 minutes? Successful traders are also failing traders; the label is based on timing and bottom line. Some people are simply not emotionally capable of withstanding the rigor and associated adrenalin and stress, they should get out of water and do something else with their lives. That's an option the rats never got.
Honestly, I do not see any connection between trading and this experiment. Trading is not a 'do-or-die' thing. It is a career choice. The trader is risking his capital out of his own free will. But in the experiment cited above, the animals were forced into it. No body forces you into trading. Why do you make it look so complicated?
Traders without any confidence of knowing they have a trading edge will give up within 15 days or 15 weeks. Traders with the confidence of knowing they have an edge, can come with a 5 year plan to exploit the edge. The first 2 years could start off bad, but you have to stick with it. Some traders will have false confidence though, like those rats. And will continue on for years with a bad or very poor edge or no real edge, they just think they have a good one and will eventually make it. Sad reality of many traders.. Padu trader going on about Al brook's methods, comes to mind