My impression is that the idea that the market average beats most strategies in the long term hides the fact that some strategies perform horribly, and some per

My impression is that the idea that the market average beats most strategies in the long term hides the fact that some strategies perform horribly, and some perform great in the long term, but many of the strategies that perform horribly look good in the short term, and distinguishing between the strategies that are attractive in the short term but horrible in the longer term, and those strategies that perform well in the longer term is a very hard problem. Of course, this might be a rationalization of me not wanting to spend the time and effort to construct an effective trading strategy.