Active vs Passive is Still a Thing?

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America.  I started playing in January 2023.  I used to get my butt kicked.  I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.  I stuck with it though.  Now, I can easily hold my own playing against the same people that used to dominate me.

Players that go against me for the first time typically strike up conversations with me after the game.  They ask me when I started playing, how often I play, and inquire about what I do for a living.  

During a recent conversation, an orthodontist asked me for my take on active vs passive investment management.  Proponents of active management believe that it is possible to outperform indices like the S&P 500.  Those that embrace passive management think that trying to outperform indexes is a fool’s game.

I told him that I think about the question more philosophically.  Rather than take a position on if one is better than the other, the fact that both forms of investment management exist suggests that they both have value.  While nodding his head to indicate that he understood where I was coming from, the orthodontist said that he believed passive management is the way to go.  He highlighted his personal experience with trying to pick stocks as the basis for his position (Like most, he came to find that he wasn’t particularly adept at identifying stocks that were slated to outperform.).

After our friendly exchange, I walked away surprised that investors still think about active vs passive.  Why does it have to be one or the other?  Why do people still feel compelled to pick a side?