In what way does the ego impact on Satoshi's Incentive Engineering?

Mining is a zero sum game. The only way to profit is by being first in line, to get your rigs started before everyone else and to sell just before that difficulty jump. You can eek out a profit but not without someone else losing out. It's all about timing. Time. When is it time to start mining? When is it time to stop? When is it time to hold the coins? When is it time to sell?

What role does the ego play in all this?

My ego tells me that I know just the right time to buy the rig, and just the right time to sell. "Surely", my ego says, "I am smarter than the market and surely I am clever enough to anticipate other people's demands and decisions before everyone else."

But when it comes to mining it isn't just the 'lucky' that make the money it's also the ones selling the shovels and spades. I'm talking about the manufacturers like KnC and Butterfly Labs; the ones who escape the rate race by giving the rats what they want. Surely that's where the profit lies. They take your money up front (like the banks) and they teach you a lesson but you don't see any profit until you learn from it.