[TrackerFF]

RE: Stock-picking skills, versus trusting the market.

I think it boils down to at least the following factors:

- The belief that you are a smart and capable person, and that this intellect will translate into all other domains, especially those close to what your won domain of expertise is. i.e "I'm good with numbers, and work in tech - thus, I should be good at picking tech companies by looking at their reported numbers"

- DIY mentality, which a lot of hacker-types posses. People in tech absolutely love to roll out their own things.

- Exposure to the various industry sectors. If you work in industry [x], you're probably going to get exposed to most parts of it - including other companies. Maybe that gives you a false sense of confidence in your pickings.