# Survivor Bias

In statistics, there is a concept called "survivor bias," which refers to researchers focusing only on the common characteristics of "survivors" while ignoring information about "failures."

A classic example is during World War II, when mathematician Abraham Wald was tasked with researching how to reinforce the armor on British bombers. On returning aircraft, bullet holes were mainly concentrated on the wings and tail, but Wald argued that the cockpit and fuel tanks should be reinforced instead, because bombers hit in those areas simply didn't make it back.

The same logic applies to books that describe entrepreneurial success secrets. Blindly copying the advice in these books doesn't mean you can replicate success. What's actually more valuable is analyzing the mistakes that defunct companies made.

The same is true in our circle. Everyone is fixated on those rare, most sensational success stories. For instance, who made millions on SHIB or NFT projects, but few people analyze what actually went wrong with those bankrupt exchanges and funds: fraud, high leverage trading, risk management failures.

Learn from others' mistakes. Sometimes the cost of your own mistakes is too steep!