Too Eager for Its Age

The weekend warrior struck over the Labor Day weekend.

And like too many stories that end with a battle wound, this one began with those most famous of last words – “hold my drink.”

Now, I remember my prowess on the volleyball court much differently than what I demonstrated on the court. But dust tends to settle on unused skillsets after a few decades – and beers do nothing to improve them.

I suppose you could chalk it up as a case of overconfidence bias. That’s one of the many cognitive biases that can lead us to sub-optimal decisions. And, with overconfidence bias, we tend to think we’re much better at tasks than an objectively reasonable person would conclude.

For example, most of us would say we’re better than average drivers. But, unlike the residents of Lake Wobegon, that’s impossible because we can’t all be better than average.

I was reminded of this bias twice this weekend. Once while I taped up my sprained wrist yesterday. And once again when I took a hard look at this 40-year-old biotech company.

To see this bias in action, you can check out my Deep Dive on the stock.

To your success