Malkiel's argument makes some big generalizations about technicians. Every trader who refers to charts does not follow trends, as was pointed out earlier in this thread. Every trader, even every trend follower, does not trade in the same time frame. For one trader, a 5 minute trade might be too long, for another, they may be fully expecting to stay in a trade for months or years. Within each time frame, no two traders will act identically. I do agree that there is no inherent edge in charting. That certainly doesn't mean charting is of no value to a trader. It is a tool to be utilized, more or less skillfully, by each trader.
I'm new to the forum and have been watching this discussion with great interest. I guess I'm a chartist -- the main thrust of my trading is based on support and resistance and I've done quite well buying support and selling resistance. To be successful and make money you don't need to know how to do a lot of things, but you need to know and implement a few techniques very well. In short, whatever works . . . to each his own!
In the very long run, even pros like Warren Buffett may blowup. Extending time over many centuries, even U.S. T-Bond holders will blowup due to a US default.