Interesting comic by xkcd:



where do you put trading?

bijeremiad 

where do you put trading?

I think each of those games can be matched by a different type of trading - which is what keeps it so interesting!

ratfink 

I think each of those games can be matched by a different type of trading - which is what keeps it so interesting!

True, the game of the SOES Bandit has been "solved".

I also found this article by Henry Carstens interesting: Two Rules of Trading System Automation

here is part of the article:

Quoting 

The liklihood of success and the degree of degredation of a trading system under automation follow two rules: The liklihood of success of the automation varies proprtionately with the expected length of the trade, i.e., a trade with a longer time horizon has a greater chance of being successfully automated than a trade with a shorter time horizon - all things being equal. The degree of degredation of the system varies inversely with the expected length of the trade, i.e., a trade with a shorter time horizon will suffer greater performance degredation than one with a longer time horizon - all things being equal. What does this mean? It's easier to automate long term systems than short term systems : ) ... Automated trading systems should outperform discretionary traders in longer time periods and discretionary traders should outperform automated systems in shorter time periods - all things being equal*. Further that performance differential should follow a stable curve with respect to time horizon of trades. *All things are _not_ equal at the millisecond time frame so the 'curve' will roll back over when machine performance exceeds human capabilities.