In sports, a head fake is a type of
feint
Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...
in which someone moves the head to fake an intended change in direction and thereby deceive opponents.
The term originated in sports, but it has become applied metaphorically in other senses. In
financial market
A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial markets ...
s, a ''head fake'' refers to a time when the market appears to be moving in one direction, but ends up moving in the opposite direction. For example, the price of a stock may initially move up, and all indications are that it will continue to move up, but shortly afterward, it reverses direction and starts moving down.
In his "Last Lecture" entitled "
Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" (also called "The Last Lecture") was a lecture given by Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor Randy Pausch on September 18, 2007, that received widespread media coverage, and was the basis ...
" (at Carnegie Mellon on September 18, 2007),
Randy Pausch
Randolph Frederick Pausch (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) was an American educator, a professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Pausch learn ...
refers extensively to "head fakes." He describes as a "head fake," for example, the phenomenon of parents encouraging their children to play football. Parents tell their children to play sports not because they really want them to become football stars, he says, but to help them develop collaboration and socializing skills. His concluding remarks during the last three or four minutes, present the final head fake of the lecture.
See also
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Pump and dump
Pump and dump (P&D) is a form of securities fraud that involves artificially inflating the price of an owned stock through false and misleading positive statements, in order to sell the cheaply purchased stock at a higher price. Once the operat ...
References
Financial markets
Sports terminology
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