It is somewhere between simple and not so simple, it is no where near complex/difficult. If you think it is try finding a cure for cancer/aids or building a spaceship that could travel 100 x the speed of light without killing the driver or a pill/drink that would make people beautiful and young forever.
Trading is similar to an iceberg. It looks simple but in reality it's complex. That doesn't mean everybody will get sunk by that iceberg, only the reckless will be trapped. If this question were asked to Tom Baldwin, he can probably give two answers: Subjective: Simple - based on his own experience. Objective: Complex - based on the success rate of many who were attempted to enter in this business.
As I tell all my new people, trading is very simple...if you'll let it be. Maybe not "easy" buy absolutely simple. Those who overcomplicate it are those who struggle. Don
The only honest answer is "it depends." Everything looks simple in hindsight. Big whoop. Because hindsight is based on the notion that you eventually find an answer, that is, find a profitable trading method. Which clearly a great many would-be traders never do. So those who say "it's simple" are leaving out a lot of details regarding their own journeys to successful trading. You have to decide if it's worth the time and effort it takes to become a successful trader (and face the possibility that you may fail to become a successful trader). Because in the beginning, unless you're very lucky, nothing is simple.
Whats funny is i didnt even mean to post this thread, i was going to but decided against it. But I'm glad it got posted. Think about it all you try to do is buy high sell low, vice versa, and thats it! Is there anything else this simple with so much information on it? thousands of books, seminars, tv shows etc.