Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen

I believe the implicit learning perspective helps to explain why so few traders ultimately succeed at their craft.  Quite simply, they cannot outlast their learning curves.  If, indeed, it takes thousands of trials to generate successful implicit learning, a great number of traders would have been bankrupted by then.  Many others might not survive that number of trials simply due to the time and energy required.  It is impossible to hold a full-time job and generate the degree of immersion in the markets needed for implicit learning.  On the other hand, it is impossible to obtain a full-time income from trading without developing the mastery conferred by years of experience.  Part-time traders never develop expertise for the same reason that part-time chess players or athletes are unlikely to succeed.  For purely practical reasons associated with raising a family, making a living, etc., few people can undergo the “starving artist” phase of skill-building.