%% Another big problem with indicators; depends on the market+ timing to. I noticed that when he worked for the big firm, Fidelity/institutional trading, i never heard him admit that. Admit what?? After Kevin Haggerty left Fidelity/ institutional trading, he admitted institutions will not admit they use 200 day moving average.
I have my opinions about off-the-shelf indicators, but I can't say with certainty they're completely useless. Everyone has to start somewhere, and most useful quantitative models are proprietary for obvious reasons.
%% Even the least useful, to some --''feelings'' could give a hint, sooner or later/later Maybe we should get up from a computer desk every now + then even if we '' feel fine!!''
Whatever you use to trade execution and money management is key. It kills me when people rag on a particular method they may work for someone else. It's true indicators are a derivative of price and volume but I agree with the OP you even if you don't use them directly if your trading on technicals your input is the current price(the current is part of past once you see it) for example RSI predicts turns but only will work in consolidations with out the RSI you would simply look for the low that held and the high that held and try to fade. I don't use them simply because it didn't fit my personality but I can see some form of these being an input for any algorithm that I write in the future.
You are all aware of how magicians work..mostly by distraction! When a person is distracted..he/she does not see what is really happening..thus..the magician performs tasks that "appear" impossible to the untrained eye! Charts are no different..and the magicians in the big financial world of trading are the brokers..software vendors..mentors..course providers..book writers..etc..they all distract the trader from what is really happening! When you look at a chart..what you will see will be directly related to what you have learned about charts..so..unless you have seen the magicians for what they really are..you are just going to see the same thing as everyone else..which..usually means.. you are going to get the same results as everyone else!
Candlesticks and multi time frame analysis I like. To me everything else is noise that gets in the way of the descision making process
RSI predicts nothing, but it shows where it has been recently, if traders spent more time in durations, expand normal RSI periods, get averages of "Swing" by the hour and study RSI in either harder trend development and in chop by making zones between 100/0, they can create much better ideas of where price been and what one might expect for continuation of movement. Major problem with RSI are the limits of 100/0.