Does literacy matter?

An immigrant can't read or write English. Works at GE. Bought GE stock and is now worth 6 figures.

Newbies come aboard and ask for book ideas. Can they succeed if they read nothing?

Are there ways to evaluate stocks proficiently without reading?

 

Never underestimate the power of luck (and survivorship bias)

 

An immigrant couldn't read or write English. Worked at WCOM. Bought WCOM stock with all their savings.

Went broke.

Went to work for Enron. Bought all the stock their 401k could limit.

Went broke.

 

Austin,

I laughed at first but literate people lost big time.

 

Yes, the point was anyone can win or lose buying company shares and holding on. Lots of people got rich and/or went broke here with Corning and Global Crossing as local employers.

Reading = comprehension is a very important skill in life... critical, even. The occasional lottery ticket win by someone illiterate (which I've witnessed firsthand) is irrelevant.

 

look at the average earnings differences between high school dropouts, post graduates, etc.... of course you have to be literate to do that.

 

it helps if you can read, definitely a feather in your hat.

 

Literacy? No. Numeracy? Yes.

 

You could just use the dark arts of trading.

 

Somebody out there who is a non-English speaker trading from a non-English-speaking country: do your charts look any different from mine?