Perhaps the biggest advantage to talking tickers on Twitter & Commonstock is opening yourself up to criticism and engaging in constructive disagreement. There have been several times I have bought into the hype of an investment, a recent example being quantum computing. I was hoping my choice would be the next Apple, ‘the wave of the future’. I admittedly was not well informed on the concept, and in hindsight should have avoided it entirely. I likely would have held firm in my assumptions, had it not been for a skeptic Twitter voice (thanks @latinmines) who was kind enough to provide me with a study that disproved several of my talking points. Recently I have become overconfident and perhaps overly vocal about my lithium returns. The market has been known to give a dose of humility when one needs it, and someone very knowledgeable and experienced reminded me why I should exercise caution, and not be so exuberant (thanks @michaelbhorner).

The biggest disservice you can do to yourself as an investor is to live in an echo chamber. It’s so important to continually question your thesis and listen to those with opposing views. Sometimes they will succeed in changing your mind, and occasionally they serve to strengthen your conviction. As this University of Maryland research concludes, ‘agreement may spark premature consensus, whereas disagreement causes all parties involved to express ideas, opinions, concerns, etc., that may ultimately lead the team to consider better options.’ There may be comfort in agreement, but would you prefer comfort or better performance? I know which choice I would make, but then again someone might prove me wrong. I welcome the opportunity to listen to their viewpoints.