i would like to introduce a new series for contemplation. i have been keeping this in the back of my head for some weeks now, and i have only begun to scratch the surface. i recently catching up with some friends discussing new work, old work, life's basic concerns. in this gathering a friend who is in the hedge fund and stock watching business blurted out something that caught my attention. being an architect it was totally foreign to me, but new things facinate me the most, as i love to tear them into little digestible pieces and absorb what i can. my friend described the concept of a type of graph that he uses as one method to track stocks. these are called stochastic oscillations.
Stochastic oscillations are graphs that monitor trends in stocks based on historical and up to the second current data. the simplest description which is where i am at so far, is to describe it as two parallel graphs that cross each other every so often, and when these two paths cross it is a sign or trigger for the viewer to buy or sell depending on if the lines are crossing on the upside or downside of the datum line. i will link a wikipedia page that shows a typical view of one of these graphs. there are a few things that are utterly fascinating about these graphs and the conversation i had with my friend about them. the first is that they track diverging/converging data or trends, which has interesting architectural parallels as far as space and time are concerned. another is the visual output of these graphs, they are constantly moving and changing shape totally based on function not aesthetics. and the most interesting part about them is that almost as soon as they are graphed the information is obsolete and virtually useless. the user who relies on them to buy or sell stock better be quick on the draw, or else the opportunity will pass them by.
for now i will introduce the subject and next time i will elaborate on the three points i made. below will be the link to some images of these graphs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic_oscillator
