What is the commonality of the "best minds" listed above?

The recurring theme of the best minds is that they are independent thinkers who do not need their opinions to be endorsed by the crowd. While this independence has given them great insight and placed them at the top of their respective disciplines, it presents a challenge to the learner in that at times their opinions are polar opposites from each other. Because we live in a time when we are encouraged to follow rather than think, this may prove frustrating. However, for those who seek excellence, it will sharpen their knowledge and resolve. Based on historical study, critical thinking will become increasingly more important as market turbulence picks up.

Since I cannot possibly expound on all those listed among the best minds in this response, I will instead focus on the similarities of two independent minds from different eras.

Benoit Mandelbrot - Dr. Mandelbrot will go down in history as one of the greatest math minds of the twentieth century. His greatest contribution to the field of mathematics is in fractal geometry. In his latest book, The (Mis)behavior of Markets, he tells of when his father, during the German occupation of France in World War II, escaped from a prison camp due to the efforts of Resistance fighters. After the mass of prisoners had gone down the road about a half a kilometer, Mandelbrot's father decided to break away and go it alone through the forest. Shortly after entering the forest he heard a German Stuka dive-bomber strafe the party on the road. He alone escaped harm. "It was,"recalled the son, "the way my father behaved throughout his life. He as an independent man and so am I. " He elaborated further on his independence, at age 80, with the following statement. " I have been a lone rider so often and for so long, that I am not even bothered by it any more."

Robert Rhea - Rhea was editor of the Wall Street Journal during the Great Depression. While all of us may agree with the "buy low, sell high" logic, few can boast of a call as famous as Rhea's. He wrote that he believed that the great bear market had ended on July 8, 1932. The market had bottomed only 12 days prior. Naturally few listened. Again arguing that the markets had turned up, he wrote the following in the Wall street Journal on May 17, 1933. "The primary objective of these letters is to encourage readers to learn to recognize the voice of the averages; to become their own oracles, and to learn to ignore the unorthodox and misleading explanations of Dow's theory written by men, either too lazy, or who lack the mentality, to master a simple subject."

On April 23, 2005 I was privileged to hear, a legend in the investment business that has followed in Rhea's footsteps, Richard Russell. At age 80 he is still writing his comments on the markets after almost a half a century. He also criticized those today who would critique Dow's theory without first reading the historical writings of Hamilton, Rhea, and Schaeffer on Dow's original work. Listening to Mr. Russell talk on the future of our markets and field questions by numerous individuals, never backing down on his opinion, inspires me to continue to read and learn and speak out for what I believe.