Seeking knowledge and wealth creation

I was brought up to believe that more knowledge will lead to better understanding of how the world works, which in turn would result in more wealth. Furthermore, I was led to believe that more 'difficult' knowledge, such as maths stats etc is a better form of knowledge, more empowering and hence more likely to lead to more income.

In retrospect, at least in the investment management field, unless you're in the HFT or quant fund field, more analytical knowledge is a distraction and hinders wealth accumulation. A consequence of acquiring a certain skill is that one thereafter engages in activities which utilize that skill, it's hard to just discard what one has expended effort on learning. 

Most of the time, the analytical toolbox doesn't help that much. It won't help you pick the technologies that are transformative, find the new retail offering that has connected with buyers, shed light on management error when embarking on stupid projects. It won't highlight policy possibilities, and how policy decisions will be made.

In the end, for all the numbers and data flitting across our screens, this isn't data mining of natural phenomena, such as lumens of stars etc. It's just humans, ruled by greed and fear. Sometimes mustering the courage to buy something, other times scared that they must sell. If you are honest to what drives the data flow and you respect the underlying forces, you will prosper.