How necessary are quantitative skills in order to trade profitably?

Quote from illiquid:

I was good at math in high school but got a C in the one and only math course I took in college. Majored in art instead, making sculptures and videos. So I would also say no.

Can one think of trading as an artform, and the markets in terms of form, composition, rhythm, tempo? I believe so. Why? Because the markets are essentially an expression of fear and greed via price and time. Profitable trading, at its core, is all about good timing. Accumulate enough screen time, and one's sense of timing begins to develop into a craft.

If you want a more concrete answer, there are probably a number of other skills far more critical and practical than quantitative. A simple but vital one is memory; the levels of the markets you trade day in, day out, should be ingrained for immediate recall. Another skill inherently necessary is the ability to learn how to learn -- you need to be proactive, fearless, and stubbornly independent in this regard. You cannot learn how to trade through reading books, a manual doesn't exist -- just as there is no manual for how to create a good work of art. You can only put in the time and effort in concentrating on what you see, and over thousands of hours finally develop your own sense of what makes sense.

Good post!

I trade both ways actually...

I am very intuitive and trade/scalp by observing the flow of the market. It is very similar to how I appreciate, and make, music...

On the other hand, I find the quantitative side stimulating as well. But in a very different way...
 
Quote from c.chugani:

How many people here WITHOUT backgrounds in maths, finance, banking, economics, statistics, computer programming or engineering have developed a succesful approach to trading that delivers consistent profits over time?

Appreciate your comments.

I never was on university. I broke my education as electrician, because i hated it. I dont categorize myself as a smart guy.
Actually i am really stupid.
But i am an ass off worker. If i want something i do everything do get it.
I always wanted to be my own boss.
Thats why found the way to trading.
 
Quote from J Ski:

Are you a Freudian?

Argument By Repetition (Argument Ad Nauseam):

instead of admitting unequivocally I don't know what I am talking about you come up with a logic principal which doesn't even apply

a latin phrase sounds good maybe to a very drunk and desperate woman.
keep repeating it.
 
Quote from J Ski:

Zdregs, to state that I am not so smart, is a bad argument. And then Visaria, states "good one" also equally absurd, that would presuppose that Visaria knows the true salary figures, and in the post, Vasarias merely agrees with you and doesn't post what the true salaries are. Another bad or inconsequential absurd conclusion.
And then to post a similar website link, and to accept the salary information correct does not seem logical either.
So Visaria, you checked zdregs information, before you complimented him on the dismissal and invalidity of my posted link to the salaries?


I have respect for zdreg, based on past postings etc and did not feel i had to check his figures against your own. Besides a little common sense, experience, knowledge whatever lead me to believe his figures were closer to the reality than your your own.

Anyway a very quick search reveals that secondary school teachers in Georgia make $52k median.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_ga.htm#25-0000
 
Is quantitative ability important to trading?
I didn't post a valid answer.
I don't have an answer.
Premise:
My assertion. " Intelligence, and quantitative skills are not essential to become a good trader and possibly make alot of money.
Inference:
I know some people that that are not good at quantitative skills, but are successful traders,therefore, quantitative skills are not necessary to become a successful trader and make alot of money.
Conclusion:
Successful trading is not contingent upon quantitative skills.
My proof, is that there are successful traders that have posted before this post and said they do not have quantitative skills, but are successful traders and have made alot of money.
I am making an assumption that their post's are truthful and not bullshit.

Now, Zdreg.
You are asserting that my initial post, which included nothing in the form of a logical argument, but what was merely statements, to be obvious nonsense.
Now, just take a moment to re-read what you have written, which I have pasted here.

"it is not an argument but a conclusion when someone posts obvious nonsense. to try discredit my info which is perfectly reasonable is to soothe to your hurt ego."

"whatever actions u usually take to pacify your ego do it quickly."

I'm having trouble understanding what you wrote.
So you have concluded that I posted something obviously nonsense and that because you replied to me in a totally illogical way, that it hurt my ego, and that I should pacify my ego quickly for some reason.
And, you repeated it twice. :D

Then you wrote:
"a latin phrase sounds good maybe to a very drunk and desperate woman.
keep repeating it."
I just looked for a definition to understand what you were implying about
the ego thing. And this is what I found.
I don't know Latin. So why not cut and paste the word into Google translate.
Argumentum ad nauseam: definition.
A belief that an assertion is more likely to be true the more often it is heard. An "argumentum ad nauseam" is one that employs constant repetition in asserting something.

You are implying that my ego has been hurt, by repeating it over twice now, so then, that would be argumentum ad nauseam, by definition, perhaps.
Next time I'm at a bar I'm going to try to use that as a pick up line, BTW.
Just as long as she has big tits, a pretty face, and decent body, and is drunk, I am confident that I will score, since you're assertion is that Latin words are good for a drunk and desperate woman.
 
Honestly, trading is the ultimate accountability game.

I have seen wandering misfits find their stride and kill in the markets.

I have seen MIT blue bloods get their fucking heads handed to them in a brown paper sack.

Just because you can tie a Windsor Knot and you edited the Harvard campus rag does not mean the markets will bow before you in deference.

The one universal maxim I have for trading strategies and methodologies: Occam's Razor.
 
Quote from c.chugani:

How many people here WITHOUT backgrounds in maths, finance, banking, economics, statistics, computer programming or engineering have developed a succesful approach to trading that delivers consistent profits over time?

Appreciate your comments.

You posed the wrong question: you should have replaced the word Necessary by the word "Sufficient" to get the right question (however this does not mean the answer would be yes).
 
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