My take on this is as follows - if simple TA would work a lot more traders were stinking rich. the fact is that state of affairs are pointing to the contrary tells me that pure TA does not work no matter what anybody tells you. Simply said indicators are giving the mob a false sense of security and crutch if you will and sooner and later they all find out that with the crutch you can not be a marathon runner.....
Well I am using TA; its just that my trading model is not based on charts. To answer your question, you are looking at figures, a price axis and a time axis, on a flat surface, when you look at a chart. This is a severe constriction of perception. Figures, instead, can be put in tables.
Another person to look at that trades some fundamentals but times all his trades based on basic technical patterns and on the assumption of trend is Dan Zanger. He has an excellent record and is basically trading breakouts and other patterns like that. I think his key is to just apply the technicals to a market or stock that is actually moving.
I wonder why so many whine bout TA not working? I guess they feel that they might be wrong, and hope to be helped to see the light. I can't believe that they're starting all these threads just to spread the truth among the mislead TA users ... What's even more disappointing is that when a TA user starts a thread to prove that it works, immediately the same people jump with sarcastic remarks, harass him, cluttering his thread. Keep quiet if you want to hear what others are saying. Keep an open mind everybody: don't start with the conclusion, and don't look only for what it proves you right!
Can you post a live journal to back up your claim? Nobody has every posted a live journal to prove that TA works, all attemps have failed within 1 month.
Have you ever tried to post an ET journal? All you get is a bunch of idiots wasting your time and energy. Et still has a ways to go before it's a real forum of traders helping traders.