--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A contrarian approach is just as foolish…" description: "\"A contrarian approach is just as foolish as a follow-the-crowd strategy. What's required is thinking rather than polling.\" — Warren Buffett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca5/warren-buffett-183_approach_a-contrarian-approach-is-just-as-foolish_1303089.png" --- # A contrarian approach is just as foolish as a… ![“A contrarian approach is just as foolish as a follow-the-crowd strategy. What's required is thinking rather than polling.” quote by Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca5/warren-buffett-183_approach_a-contrarian-approach-is-just-as-foolish_1303089.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca5/warren-buffett-183_approach_a-contrarian-approach-is-just-as-foolish_1303089.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca5/warren-buffett-183_approach_a-contrarian-approach-is-just-as-foolish_1303089.png) > “A contrarian approach is just as foolish as a follow-the-crowd strategy. What's required is thinking rather than polling.” [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Both blindly following the crowd and blindly opposing it are unwise; thoughtful independent thinking is essential. **In simple terms:** Think for yourself, not just follow or reject the masses. Key Takeaway Prioritize independent analysis. Themes decision‑making independence critical thinking strategy Mood analytical thought‑provoking Type financial philosophical When to use this quote - investment choices - business strategy - personal life decisions Key Concepts behavioral finance contrarian investing group dynamics Questions to Reflect On - When have you challenged popular opinion? - What evidence do you seek before deciding? A Different Perspective Independent thinking can be costly without sufficient information. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Contrarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrarian/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [None of this means, however, that a business or stock is an intelligent purchase simply because it is unpopular; a contrarian approach is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/none-of-this-means-however-that-a-business-or-stock-is-an-intelligent/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Some deeper part of me wants to write comical dialogue; I'd be foolish to not follow that impulse. 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That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/of-course-i-love-you-the-flower-said-to-him-it-is-my-fault-that-you/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [If you trust nobody then you are just as foolish as when you trust everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/if-you-trust-nobody-then-you-are-just-as-foolish-as-when-you-trust/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [A Sceptick therefore, who because he finds that Truths are not universally received, doubts of their existence, is just as foolish as a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/a-sceptick-therefore-who-because-he-finds-that-truths-are-not/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Those otherworldly desires were just as foolish as the worldly desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/those-otherworldly-desires-were-just-as-foolish-as-the-worldly-desires/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I'm sort of in for a penny, in for a pound with Star Trek, It's my life at this point. To deny it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-frakes/i-m-sort-of-in-for-a-penny-in-for-a-pound-with-star-trek-it-s-my-life/) [Jonathan Frakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-frakes/) > [As everyone knows, things change in pro wrestling all the time. To try and expect what's going to happen in the future is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cole/as-everyone-knows-things-change-in-pro-wrestling-all-the-time-to-try/) [Adam Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cole/) > [“Do you intend to make me cry, or are you just foolish?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/do-you-intend-to-make-me-cry-or-are-you-just-foolish/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Without opium, plans, marriages and journeys appear to me just as foolish as if someone falling out of a window were to hope to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/without-opium-plans-marriages-and-journeys-appear-to-me-just-as/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [But 300 million Americans, their lending institutions, their government, their media, all believed that house prices were going to go up consistently. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/but-300-million-americans-their-lending-institutions-their-government/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [It’s actually pretty easy to be contrarian. It’s hard to be contrarian and right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reid-hoffman/it-s-actually-pretty-easy-to-be-contrarian-it-s-hard-to-be-contrarian/) [Reid Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reid-hoffman/) > [Contrarian thinking at its best simply asks, Is this really true? It speaks up when the politically correct answer or the conventional wisdom doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-osborne/contrarian-thinking-at-its-best-simply-asks-is-this-really-true-it/) [Larry Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-osborne/) > [I have contrarian tendencies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-t-conway-iii/i-have-contrarian-tendencies/) [George T. Conway III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-t-conway-iii/) ## More by Warren Buffett > [To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insights, or inside information. What's needed is a sound intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/to-invest-successfully-over-a-lifetime-does-not-require-a/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/be-fearful-when-others-are-greedy-and-be-greedy-when-others-are/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Making money isn't the backbone of our guiding purpose; it is the by-product of our guiding purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/making-money-isn-t-the-backbone-of-our-guiding-purpose-it-is-the-by/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [We set no volume goals in our insurance business generally-and certainly not in reinsurance-as virtually any volume can be achieved if profitability standards are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/we-set-no-volume-goals-in-our-insurance-business-generally-and/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Everybody's got a different circle of competence. The important thing is not how big the circle is. The important thing is staying inside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/everybody-s-got-a-different-circle-of-competence-the-important-thing/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [It is better to point out your own mistakes than have somebody else do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/it-is-better-to-point-out-your-own-mistakes-than-have-somebody-else/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [I've read about all the sales today. If you're an auto dealer, you're feeling it. 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Other people might, but certainly don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-don-t-measure-my-life-by-the-money-i-ve-made-other-people-might-but/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [I mean the truth is, I've never had it so good in terms of taxes. I am paying the lowest tax rate that I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-mean-the-truth-is-i-ve-never-had-it-so-good-in-terms-of-taxes-i-am/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/the-most-important-quality-for-an-investor-is-temperament-not/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Investors, of course, can, by their own behavior make stock ownership highly risky. And many do. Active trading, attempts to "time" market movements, inadequate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/investors-of-course-can-by-their-own-behavior-make-stock-ownership/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) [Explore all 984 Warren Buffett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) ## More Approach quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. 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I try to understand the emotional graph of the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratik-gandhi/i-don-t-have-any-particular-method-my-approach-is-very-simple-i-try/) [Pratik Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratik-gandhi/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. 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