Criteria Quote by Benjamin Graham
“Successful investment may become substantially a matter of techniques and criteria that are learnable, rather than the product of unique and incommunicable mental powers.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Intelligent Investor, 1949, discussion of investment methodology
Investment success relies more on learnable techniques and criteria than on mysterious innate talent.
In simple terms: Skill beats mystery in investing.
Key Takeaway
Focus on mastering proven methods.
Themes
investment
skill
education
Mood
analytical
pragmatic
Type
educational
inspirational
When to use this quote
- stock selection
- portfolio construction
- risk assessment
Key Concepts
behavioral finance
criteria
techniques
Questions to Reflect On
- What techniques can you improve?
- How do you balance method with intuition?
A Different Perspective
Talent still plays a role; over‑reliance on methods can ignore market nuance.
![“[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion, why do you not believe in materialistic science, which has an unparalleled record of fulfilled prophecy? Consider, for example, eclipses.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/875/carl-sagan-160_belief_when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-a_25095.jpg)
