Michael Lewis

So when you place an order, you pay a commission to trade the stock, but the information about what you want to do gets sold to some high-frequency trader, and the right to trade against you gets sold.

It's called payment for airflow.

I mean, that in itself.

I mean, why would someone pay to execute your stock market order?

You would think someone would ask that question.

They make money on volume.

The high-frequency trader gets a chance to trade against you at the old price.

And you don't know he's there.

And you have not invited him in.

You have not invited him in.

So there are different kinds of predatory activities that high-frequency traders are engaged in, but basically none of them are really good for us.

I mean, they're not good for us.

They're attacks on investors.

They're attacking him too.

And it's amazing to me because all he really went to do was figure out how the stock market worked.

And it was a breathtakingly complicated question.

And it became complicated so you wouldn't understand.

Yes.

And so all he's trying to do is like rectify that problem.

He deconstructed it.