I went to Flight School and all I got was this cr@ppy t-shirt.

[HowardCohodas]

Oh yes I see now! I have also noticed that there are a lot of motivational quotes that come from flying school yet have a rather amazing similarity to trading.

If I'd known all I needed to do was learn to fly to be able to trade I would have started years ago!

Check out the link in my signature.

 

[DashRiprock]

I met a couple of fighter pilots during my MSc studies. I remember playing a computer game designed to induce cognative overload, in which a series of moving targets of various colours shapes and sizes appear on a screen, and you are given instructions to prioritse particular targets, and ignore others etc.

The longer the game continued the harder it got, and most people where completely confused and disorientated within the first few minutes, but these guys just handled anything that was thrown at them. They just seamed to have an ability to cut through the noise and focus on whats important. I dont know if thats just a natural ability of if the technnique can be learnt, or even if it that sort of skill would be of any use, but I supect it would.

well look, I int never been a fighter pilot nor ever even flown a plane. thats the troof. but i have dun lots of trades so there.

rite, about the cognitive overload thing, well... look bottom line i dunno about fighter piloting (some here doo tho! ) but i rekon its a bit like start of chess game with less moves. like, he turns left, but u know that he can turn left faster than u can, so u either need to slow down (sharper turning angle) to keep same difference, or go a bit higher, and be higher than him when he goes straight, because then you can use extra height to go faster later on, yadda yadda yadda. what i mean is, there might be 5 or 6 A'a B's C's D's E's F's and G's, but rules are known already. u watch a proper chess game and there all same or follow established patterns for as much as 20 moves! its just at the end when bloke cracks up and does something wrong that chess game is won/lost. just case of being like super quick at flow diagrams in your mind - so quick that u dont have to do it, its habit in a figher plane.

well honest i can see some sameness with trading. i talkin about scalping which is pretty much wat i do. like, u see a thing, but to think about doing trade mean too late! just always going through OODA, and when it dont look good, keep ur powder dry.

can be taught? well i say same as 007, evry1 has a natural capacity for it, some more than others. but every1 can improve by practising fopr sure, like go on lumosity - u can get better results if u practice but cant raise innate capabilities. there fixed.

 

[HowardCohodas]

yeah all true but howard dont teach about fighter pilots he knows about cessnas!

there is famous "OODA" thing dun by fighter pilot thats quite good if u can find it. also things like visualisation and preparation and getting to stage where no wat 2 do without thinking just almost muscle memory.

as well, like fighter piloting is all about converting one type of energy to another, like risk and reward even.

but howard isnt on about that.

I'm a low winger myself so I only fly in a Cessna when I have no choice.

I have a friend who is an ex-fighter pilot and now an airline pilot. He suggests that flying anything well is a challenge. The only thing about being a fighter pilot is that besides gravity, the enemy can bring you down when you least expect it.

If you are a competent pilot, even GA, and a competent trader you would see more similarities than differences. In both areas you are always a student.

 

[HowardCohodas]

I've got a new book on trading coming out. It's nearly ready and I got a proof of the cover back from the printer today. What do you think of it?

Not making that an image wasted time for little benefit.

 

[DashRiprock]

look, howie, the proper conversation about fighter pilots aside, really you are sucking eggs here.

I mean, what you are doing, is looking at trading and making it fit into something that you understand, like flying. the parallesl exist, but only to you and only in your head. If I was a history dPhil student I could make trading be similar to reading about old things because a) it's circular reference and b) people can convince themselves of anything.

the mistake u r making is that u r assuming every1 else sees same parallels between trading and flying, when most probably only a handful know about flying, and you - at least in your previous incarnation - don' t know a whole lot about trading. U R trying to fit square peg thru round hole and only reason u think it works is cos u know enough about both to fool yourslef r the same.

 

[HowardCohodas]

look, howie, the proper conversation about fighter pilots aside, really you are sucking eggs here.

I mean, what you are doing, is looking at trading and making it fit into something that you understand, like flying. the parallesl exist, but only to you and only in your head. If I was a history dPhil student I could make trading be similar to reading about old things because a) it's circular reference and b) people can convince themselves of anything.

the mistake u r making is that u r assuming every1 else sees same parallels between trading and flying, when most probably only a handful know about flying, and you - at least in your previous incarnation - don' t know a whole lot about trading. U R trying to fit square peg thru round hole and only reason u think it works is cos u know enough about both to fool yourslef r the same.

As with many things, you and I disagree. Although I don't think I repeat myself as much as you do. And I don't view you as in any way representative of traders I know, many of whom enjoy these references.

I got the message on what you think on the matter. Repeating it any more often is wasted on me.

 

[DashRiprock]

the reason you don't think you repeat yourself as much as me is that you make the (false) assumption that once something is explained to you, you understand it.

 

[0007]

well look, I int never been a fighter pilot nor ever even flown a plane. thats the troof. but i have dun lots of trades so there.

rite, about the cognitive overload thing, well... look bottom line i dunno about fighter piloting (some here doo tho! ) but i rekon its a bit like start of chess game with less moves. like, he turns left, but u know that he can turn left faster than u can, so u either need to slow down (sharper turning angle) to keep same difference, or go a bit higher, and be higher than him when he goes straight, because then you can use extra height to go faster later on, yadda yadda yadda. what i mean is, there might be 5 or 6 A'a B's C's D's E's F's and G's, but rules are known already. u watch a proper chess game and there all same or follow established patterns for as much as 20 moves! its just at the end when bloke cracks up and does something wrong that chess game is won/lost. just case of being like super quick at flow diagrams in your mind - so quick that u dont have to do it, its habit in a figher plane.

well honest i can see some sameness with trading. i talkin about scalping which is pretty much wat i do. like, u see a thing, but to think about doing trade mean too late! just always going through OODA, and when it dont look good, keep ur powder dry.

can be taught? well i say same as 007, evry1 has a natural capacity for it, some more than others. but every1 can improve by practising fopr sure, like go on lumosity - u can get better results if u practice but cant raise innate capabilities. there fixed.

Dash raises some interesting and relevant points. His description of fighter tactics is a good one: and I think it's a good comparison to scalping though I can't say with authority cos I haven't truly scalped - got plenty of frights enough doing trades over a few minutes or so.

In flying there different kinds of roles ranging from "Top Gun" to heavy transports - they all require much skill, dedication and training (as in successful trading) and very often those who are good in one role are not in another. I believe there's a parallel with trading here and thus it's important to find which trading style suits you best.

I've never trained anyone in trading except myself but I would be interested to know if those who have experience of trader training have found that certain people have aptitudes for a certain type of trading. What I've personally found is that once you've mastered the basics of trading then getting to know yourself (in trading terms) is key to success through trading instruments/timeframes/methods that are best suited to you. That's why I have doubts (though unsubstantiated) about the wisdom of beginners starting out with forex regardless (it's easy money isn't it - so they say in the ads )

In training military aviators great attention is paid to matching temperament and aptitude to the type of plane they will fly. I really think we should be doing the same in trading.

 

[TheBramble]

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place
- George Bernard Shaw

 

[HowardCohodas]

the reason you don't think you repeat yourself as much as me is that you make the (false) assumption that once something is explained to you, you understand it.

Thank you for reminding me why I have spent so little time here of late.

 

[DashRiprock]

I'm all confused.

I think there are quite a few skills that fighter pilots have that, if possible, would be desirable for someone who was trading - and vice versa. thats about it, being a good trader dont mean u be a good fighter pilot - or actually a good anything else. it is what it is.

 

[0007]

I'm all confused.

I think there are quite a few skills that fighter pilots have that, if possible, would be desirable for someone who was trading - and vice versa. thats about it, being a good trader dont mean u be a good fighter pilot - or actually a good anything else. it is what it is.

Yup! I seem to remember reading somewhere that ability & effort are the 2 main constituents of most people's achievement, with the ratio being 80:20 - effort:ability (funny how Pareto keeps cropping up). So I suppose if you have the minimum necessary ability then all you have to do is try really hard and persevere - isn't that what all those self help psycho books are about? And I bet it's the perseverance bit where many fall - cos trading's the quick & easy route to riches and "you only need 10 mins after work each night"

Didn't the Turtles' experiment find that it wasn't ability but application that determined success?