I think the point is that "indexes are overall superior to stock picking, and always go up over long periods of time" is disproved by the history of Nikkei. Su

I think the point is that "indexes are overall superior to stock picking, and always go up over long periods of time" is disproved by the history of Nikkei. Sure, at a given time and place, an index may be better. At other times one or two stocks may be better. But I think the "time in the market beats timing the market, always" is kind of negated by Japan's lost decades.