But he was paying thousands of dollars per year for a monthly newsletter that contained <some brand of analysis>. And he patiently showed me how he started with a row in the table that met <his criteria> then followed to the column that met <other criteria> and that was the choice he made in the market.
And I'm thinking, whatever information he's getting in that newsletter is at least a month old by the time he gets it. And he's not doing anything a program couldn't do, with the information in digital form. And he should know that -- he was a computer programmer earlier in life. As far as I could see, there was zero chance he was beating anyone or anything with that technique, and starting in a several thousand dollar hole.
Maybe I was wrong, but I don't think so.
I'd spend that money on piano/drawing lessons or something. Or take a few trips around the world.
Better return on investment.
In fact if you're a trader (not a long term investor) that manages to make money in the markets you will by definition use some form of technical analysis.
You should still be skeptical if they try and sell you on their patented lottery number picking strategy.