yes, that is what I thought about it.. that someone was taking advantage of him.. and yes, I agree that a year in a sophisticated environment is not necessarily enough.. You know and I know that people in that field don't need a sophisticated analogy in order to rationalize just .. cheating someone to get more money that day.
I can do a lot more math than the guy I knew in that story, but I would not call him an idiot lightly
You haven't provided evidence of front running or any other form of cheating. Idiots lose money on bad trades every day with no cheating involved, and then they try to excuse their failures by falsely claiming that someone took advantage of them. Math skills alone are only a minor factor in trading.
I can do a lot more math than the guy I knew in that story, but I would not call him an idiot lightly