There are certainly those at play but I'd wager that is...

There are certainly those at play but I'd wager that is harder to gauge. The quote from Graham about the market being a voting machine in the short run VS a weighing machine in the long run. Measuring sentiment being very hard. And where that can "start" or "stop" in terms of share price momentum.

I also agree giving oneself a label doesn't guarantee success. A long term investor can be as much as a gambler as a trader taking a punt on a lithium explorer. But it is interesting of note to identify which investing strategies tend to be more successful. Noting further risk mitigation of the value investor where the question on if a company were to be delisted or liquidated, would you be able to realise a profit?

WBT is certainly a speculative investment, even now despite all the progress imo. It wouldn't align with his principles of investing. After recently trying my hand at it I much more safely and confidently hold while turning an as-so-far decent profit. Buffet for instance was recently asked at the most recent Berkshire Hathaway AGM if he started again with $1m or something what he'd do, and basically said he'd do the same as he is now aiming to make a 50% return yoy. Indicating to me there is a tonne of opportunity on this front.

In hindsight releasing a profit on weebit at $7+ would have been the smart move as the speculation on fab uptake was quite frankly unknown and many here, myself included, are having a hard lesson on that. Referring to Graham's point about "understanding what you're investing in". Sure we understand aspects of the tech but did we really understand how the domain works?

Even though my overall prior investing strategy has been successful (beating the market). The turnaround and confidence through value investing with a solid dose of quality (albeit harder to measure but I think may be needed to get an edge these days) is where I'll be heading going forward.

Asking why retail participants on stock picking tend to lean into trading VS investing of a more fundamental kind would be interesting to see the answer to. I've mentioned in the past the behavioural differences between males and females investing/trading. Worthy of note in the male comparison to females is the higher incidence short term trading practices, the higher participation, gambling tendencies, etc. Just take a peak on your latest nearology play and see the kinds of people there (anecdotally very few females, and a crowd that would be no different to one at the local pub yelling at the TV watching the dogs or a horse race).

Comes back to inclinations of why one method may appeal to oneself other another. What's the goal in the end. And working on beating bad tendencies/behaviours out of oneself in order to ensure success.