Perhaps the greatest psychological debate that persists on Slope is whether or not there is such thing as a truly neutral, balanced, opportunistic trader. I have taken up the controversial and unpopular position that people tend to lean strongly bearish or bullish, whereas others have – – while pointing feverishly at themselves – – extolled the virtues of being blind to bias, and they simply extract money out of the market, irrespective of direction.

Let me state early on I actually do believe there are a very small number of people like this (like Attila) but, on the whole, we’re all either bulls or bears. And I’m not stating these in absolute terms. After all, I am a self-described and self-admitted permabear, but as I sit here now, my only positions are a sprinkling of bullish ones. But the permabear in me is ready to throw me off skyscraper if the market simply keeps plummeting.

So you have the opportunity for a bit of self-examination here. No reason to ‘fess up. Just ask yourself something.