Читать книгу Trading Psychology 2.0 - Steenbarger Brett N. - Страница 7

I'm not sure when I first focused on the fact that time is an event. There are many events that help us define time, from the Earth's daily rotation to the radiation emitted by cesium atoms. We mark time with such events as birthdays and anniversaries; we think of a year in seasons and holidays. Waking up, eating, going to work, coming home, taking vacations – we live life in event time.

Suppose I am an athlete and my energy level is a function of when and how I practice and perform. Sometimes I practice daily; sometimes I take a day off; sometimes I practice very intensively; sometimes less so. If you were to chart my energy level over time, you'd see irregular ups and downs – seemingly no pattern at all. But suppose you defined time in terms of performance events. Suddenly we would have a new chart – a new x-axis – and regularities would become apparent.

It is November 10, 2014. I am in my kitchen, sitting at the center island, accompanied by the youngest of our four rescue cats, Mia Bella. I have just finished overhauling my market charts, removing time from the x-axes and replacing it with an event clock. Examining past markets, I find striking regularities – ones I had never seen before. Soon I will see if those regularities provide actionable insights in real time.

I've had interesting market ideas in the past. This one feels different, however. It feels like opening an animal crate that has been transported from a rural Kentucky high-kill shelter, picking up the soft, gray, purring kitten, and knowing this is the one.

Someone in the crate area watched Mia cling to my shoulder and commented, “She's chosen you.” That's the way it is with all great things, whether they be life companions, career callings, or paradigm-shifting ideas: They choose you.

But you have to be ready to be selected…