The Heretics of Finance: Conversations with Leading Practitioners of Technical Analysis

Chapter 15. The Evolution of Technical Analysis

	People ask, with things moving so quickly, is technical analysis still relevant? Has it changed? It's still the same. It's as if they speeded up the records from 33 rpm to 78 rpm. Everything develops faster. Charts are still valid for the simple reason that what we're measuring is supply and demand, which is never going to change, and human nature is never going to change. Fear and greed are always the same.
	--S. Weinstein

How has the craft evolved since you first started this work?

ACAMPORA: The biggest thing that happened to technical analysis is the Market Technicians Association. In 1975 we started the MTA library, the first of its kind. The MTA provides a forum, and, as an organization, it is very proactive. We do a lot of things for people. Mike Epstein, for example, who is both part of MIT and part of the MTA Educational Foundation, is doing things that have never been done before, such as providing education on college campuses. We have sister societies all around the world now.

BIRINYI: Technical analysis has become more publicized because there is more media. You now have Smart Money magazine, Money magazine, CNBC, etc., but there is a need for input and content. There have been some dramatic developments that have brought technicians to the fore. I don't think the practice is any better. I think that people practicing technical ...