Piling in on the buy side because of a fear of missing out counts as panicking.

That's hardly symmetrical to the fear of losing the money that you have already invested – investors feel they have no choice but to sell before it gets worse, whereas in the rally you can always choose not to buy.

> That's hardly symmetrical to the fear of losing the money that you have already invested...

It's pretty symmetrical. Choosing not to buy is not as easy as it looks, when you are under pressure to do so. Madoff took advantage of this. The crash of 1929 was preceded by unhinged buying.

Actually, i think it is symmetrical. The fear of missing out on making a ton of money is just as scary for a trader.

Short squeezes are akin to declines in terms of the psychology involved.

The average investor isn't subject to short squeezes...

Even better: the percentage split between long and short holders isn't 50%/50%