Dear Practitioners,
Welcome to Episode Two of the Living Library.
The Living Library is a distinct new layer within Asymmetrist: an applied space where written work, reader correspondence, and live market conditions are worked through in real time. It takes ideas out of finished form and tests them against the present environment.
Secure the Early Reader Annual Rate: If this publication sharpens how you see markets—and how you see yourself within them—you are welcome to support it as a paid subscriber. To mark the relaunch, a one-off Early Reader annual rate is available until 28 February. Readers have already taken advantage of it. If you’ve been meaning to formalise your support, this is the window.
This episode centres on two linked abilities. First: placing oneself in the right markets at the right time — and ensuring that orientation is cohesive with day-to-day behaviour. Second: backing oneself fully when that moment arrives. We examine this through recent Asymmetrist work — from the redundancy of the so-called “technical trader” to the Warrior’s Greenland trade, The Night Without a Twist, and the distinction between gradual repricing and genuine inflection points.
Below, you’ll find chapter markers, resources mentioned, and the option to move directly to the written version if you prefer to read rather than listen. Both formats are intentional; you can move between them as it suits you.
A note on access: the Living Library is available to paid subscribers only. You can listen here, or add the private feed to your podcast app using the options on the right-hand side of the page.
In terms of cadence, the intention remains roughly two Living Library episodes per publication cycle. This first cycle has expanded due to the depth of When Tools Become the World. Over time, frequency will normalise across the year. The year is young, and there is much to work through.
Good reading—or listening—and good trading to you all,
Bogdan
Episode Summary:
This episode of the Living Library builds off a recent conversation with The Godfather, where we examine the redundancy and limitations of the so-called “technical trader” label. From there, it moves through the Greenland trade and the “night without a twist” to explore non-linear conviction, negative capability, and the ability to shift into size without being governed by recent P&L. Beneath it sits a deeper question of strategic orientation: where you point the cannon, where you accept losses, and where you are prepared to commit fully when genuine opportunity emerges. This is career design: preparing for the handful of moments that can shape an entire year.
Note: If you’d prefer to read, the button below will take you to the written version.
Chapter Markers
00:00 Episode Premise
00:45 Silverstone Trader Talk
02:58 Beyond Technical Labels
04:34 Dissolving Boundaries
07:30 No Labels Just Trader
11:36 Models Over Words
14:02 Strategic vs Tactical
16:38 Right Place Right Time
18:47 Finding Where Action Is
27:10 Warrior Gambit Conviction
33:26 Career Trades and Twists
35:44 Take Risk When It Matters
37:53 Reinvent for New Markets
39:13 Closing and Sign Off
Resources Mentioned
Defeating the Discombobulating Dialectic: Or, Just Trade the Damn Thing! Part II.
Referenced in relation to dissolving artificial boundaries and the practitioner of tomorrow.
When Tools Become the World (series)
Part II(a): If You Can Speak It, It is Finished
“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.”
Singularity of Now (Idea Index)
Integrated and explored further in Part II(b): Trading in a Snow Globe.
The Warrior’s Gambit: Trading The Greenland De-escalation
Referenced as a central behavioural example. Compared to prior environments and used to illustrate non-reactive markets and decisive participation.
Stamina: A Multi Six-Figure Japanese Election Trade
Cited as a behavioural parallel to Greenland. Similar posture and execution pattern.
The Night Without a Twist: Inside a Prop Trading Firm’s U.S. Election Play
Market behaviour when there is no narrative shock
The difference between expectation snapbacks and gradual pricing
Why certain nights produce decent P&L but not career-defining anomalies
