... the fallacy of misplaced emphasis, the easiest and most pernicious fallacy for the historian to commit: what the historian says is true, but by failing to indicate its place in a larger context, he or she implicitly distorts its significance.
- John W. O'Malley, SJ
The same problem of misplaced emphasis can be said of investment analysts. It is not whether what you say is correct. It is whether what you say is important. Many analysts are good at providing details and giving extensive facts and figures. It is often impressive what you can learn from a good analyst, but what is critical information is much more relevant and harder to provide.
This is like our discussion on confidence and accuracy. More information improves confidence but not accuracy. (See More information does not lead to improved accuracy.) Know what is important is more important than just knowing.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons for being a trend-following. If had to ask for just one piece of information and nothing more, I would ask for direction of the trend. Any other information can be true but not significant.
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