{"id":34709,"date":"2025-02-28T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=34709"},"modified":"2025-12-05T10:56:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T02:56:24","slug":"think-keep-sane-in-crowd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/28\/think-keep-sane-in-crowd\/","title":{"rendered":"In the crowd, it&#8217;s impossible to think independently or keep sane"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/28\/think-keep-sane-in-crowd\/#The_crowd_never_think_independently\" >The crowd never think independently<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/28\/think-keep-sane-in-crowd\/#%E2%80%9CThe_Crowd%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;The Crowd&#8221;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/28\/think-keep-sane-in-crowd\/#Only_when_you_are_alone_can_you_think\" >Only when you are alone can you think<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/28\/think-keep-sane-in-crowd\/#Mungers_view\" >Munger&#8217;s view<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/28\/think-keep-sane-in-crowd\/#Closing_words\" >Closing words<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/28\/think-keep-sane-in-crowd\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_crowd_never_think_independently\"><\/span>The crowd never think independently<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is difficult to think independently when in the crowd. &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/01\/15\/crowd-get-lost\/\">The crowd tend to lose their judgment and get lost<\/a>&#8221; In other words, if you want to think independently, the best way is to stay out of the crowd. When it comes down to it, group and independent thinking are difficult to reconcile; the two are mutually exclusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is also why I wrote an article called &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/26\/out-of-the-ordinary\/\">How difficult to be out of the ordinary<\/a>&#8220;.&#8221;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/01\/investment-is-not-voting\/\">Investing is not voting<\/a>&#8220;, but the masses, in essence, are actually a display of voting behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CThe_Crowd%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Crowd-Study-Popular-Mind\/dp\/1636000169\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Crowd<\/a>&#8221; <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The crowd are always blind, especially in the stock market. Gustave Le Bon pointed out in his psychology masterpiece &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Crowd-Study-Popular-Mind\/dp\/1636000169\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Crowd<\/a>&#8221; a hundred years ago. <em> <\/em>Gustave Le Bon  was&nbsp;one&nbsp;of the first&nbsp;people&nbsp;to identify that&nbsp;groups&nbsp;of&nbsp;people, when clustered&nbsp;together, have a&nbsp;collective&nbsp;unconsciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Only_when_you_are_alone_can_you_think\"><\/span>Only when you are alone can you think<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Blaise Pascal: &#8220;Everyone&#8217;s troubles arise from his inability to sit quietly in a room by himself.&#8221; (Note: Munger said exactly the same thing) If you can sit for 30 minutes and spend it happily, you are successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Munger once said: What brought me great wealth was never my prayers, it was always because I sat still. It is rare to find someone who can be both correct and sit still. The market cannot defeat them, it is themselves who defeat them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mungers_view\"><\/span>Munger&#8217;s view<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Charlie Munger once said, &#8220;If, in your thinking, you rely entirely on others, often through purchase of professional advice, whenever outside a small territory of your own, you will suffer much calamity.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Closing_words\"><\/span>Closing words<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Self-Reliance-Ralph-Waldo-Emerson\/dp\/1936719061\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: &#8220;It is easy in the world to live after the world&#8217;s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.&#8221; in his book of &#8220;Self-Reliance&#8221;.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"149\" height=\"90\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/The_Crowd-Custom.jpg\" alt=\"The Crowd\" class=\"wp-image-34730\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">credit: Gemini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_articles\"><\/span>Related articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/12\/04\/fall-to-lower-class\/\">You might unknowingly fall to lower class<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/28\/think-keep-sane-in-crowd\/\">In the crowd, it&#8217;s impossible to think independently or keep sane<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/06\/20\/follow-the-crowd-behaviors\/\">Follow the crowd, a behavior checklist<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/10\/20\/thinking-outsourced\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Thinking cannot be outsourced<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/01\/15\/crowd-get-lost\/\">The crowd tend to lose their judgment and get lost<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/26\/out-of-the-ordinary\/\">How difficult to be out of the ordinary<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/01\/investment-is-not-voting\/\">Investing is not voting<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/07\/27\/survivorship-bias\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">People believe successful investors are survivorship bias cannot succeed<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/05\/02\/why-the-successful-skills-needed-for-stock-investment-is-opposite-of-successful-workplace-skills\/\">Workplace skills doesn&#8217;t help much in investment<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The crowd, groups\u00a0of\u00a0people, when clustered\u00a0together, have a\u00a0collective\u00a0unconsciousness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34730,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[539,15,68,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-thinking","category-charlie-munger","category-insight-second-level-thinking","category-out-of-the-ordinary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34709"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40511,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34709\/revisions\/40511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}