The So-called Problem of "Signals Repainting"

“Yesterday’s market cannot be bought.”

That is axiomatic, and it should be obvious. But to some it isn’t. Instead of positioning a chart so that a date of interest in the past is now at the the hard, right-edge of the chart, making a prediction on the basis of what can be known at that time, and then advancing the chart by a day to see how their prediction played out, they want scroll the chart back and forth, creating the equivalent of a light show.

If the indicator being plotted depends on the lookback period chosen, then the values displayed by the indicator are going to change. Like, duh. What’s hard to understand about that? That’s exactly the same thing that happens throughout the day. Do your bike ride midday and look for how much shadow you cast. Do your ride in the late afternoon and you’ve got a companion cyclist to your left (if you’re heading east) who matches your every move.

The Hi/Lo flags --Quill calls 'em Frowny and Smiley faces-- that BarChart plants at the beginning and end of each major trend with a lookback period are the graphic product of BC’s “Highest High Lowest Low” study, whose parameters can be changed.

One can complain about the Hi/Lo study. But that is a really, really, really stupid thing to do, about as smart as trying to use a srewdriver to pound ten penny nails into framing joists. Each and every technical indicator was creaetd for a specific purpose. Not all of them do a good job of what they were created for. But not making the effort to understand what they can and can’t do is really, really, really stupid. (IMHO, 'natch.)

Charlie

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