I think TA does work, but one reason it does, is because so many investors use it. How much of success with TA is as the result of this reason, I don't know, perhaps very, very little.

However, the sense I often get from those that use it, then explain it, is of a thoroughbred bettor who uses the Racing Form to figure his play, going over the just completed race and explaining why the particular result occurred, using the horse's past performances to demonstrate how clear the event was. Of course, the bettor has usually missed the one key factor that should have clued him into the winner. Like my dad used to say, "if they ran to their past performances, the favorite would always win." No doubt an overstatment, but there is some wisdom in the statement.

I sometimes hear arguments from TA advocates that, boiled down to the essentials, go something like this, "based on this chart, this stock will go up tomorrow, unless it doesn't."

Far from being a harsh critic of TA, I'm for anything that correctly predicts that the NOT sp will go up, and so long as it does go up, I'm happy even if no one predicted it.