The Amsterdam Stock Exchange kicked off in 1602. Four centuries later, we still call it “investing” but what if it’s more like playing a very old complex game?

Here’s what blows my mind:

✓ Most short term price moves aren’t about fundamentals they’re about emotion: fear, hype, FOMO. ✓ Retail traders aren’t trading against people anymore they’re up against bots and HFT algorithms executing in microseconds. ✓ Stocks rise or fall not based on reality but on expectations of reality. It's not earnings, it's vibes. ✓ Most stocks don’t return profits directly (dividends) they sell narratives about future value. ✓ Those who win aren’t necessarily the smartest they’re the ones who understand it’s all a probabilistic, sentiment driven game.

So my question is:

Are we investing or just simulating rational behavior inside a highly gamified financial engine?

If the stock market is a simulation, who’s the player… and who’s played?