Glossary term
Research lean
Definition
A tally of voting nodes: bullish, mixed, or bearish. A score, not a ticket, not a forecast.
How it works
A research lean is the output of a voting rule. Each voting node reports bullish (constructive), mixed, bearish (cautious), or abstains. Constructive counts +1, cautious counts −1, mixed counts 0, and abstentions are left out. The score is (constructive − cautious) divided by the number of nodes that actually voted, a number between −1 and +1.
The score is then compared with thresholds of ±0.25. A score of +0.25 or higher prints a constructive lean, −0.25 or lower prints a cautious one, and everything in between prints mixed. Kelly sizing and cycle study are shown on the board but do not vote. A lean describes what a voting rule found on a classroom name. It does not describe what to do, and the course avoids buy and sell wording for exactly that reason.
Worked example
Take a hypothetical name where ten nodes vote: 3 constructive, 1 cautious, 6 mixed. Score = (3 − 1) / 10 = 0.20, which sits inside ±0.25, so the lean prints mixed. If one mixed node instead turned constructive, the tally becomes 4 constructive, 1 cautious, 5 mixed: (4 − 1) / 10 = 0.30, and the printed word changes to constructive.
One node moved by one step and the headline moved with it. This is why the course asks you to read the number and the count of active voters before reading the word: a score parked near a threshold is a less stable reading than one in the middle of its band, even when both print with the same confidence.
Hypothetical, for education only. Not a recommendation and not a prediction.
Common mistake
The mistake is translating a lean into a ticket in your head: constructive becomes buy, mixed becomes hold, cautious becomes sell. The course asks you to write that translation down and cross it out. A lean is a score about agreement among instruments, many of which read the same recent prices. Disagreement is information, not a hidden instruction, and none of it is a forecast.