science of stocks

Buying common stocks is an art, not a science. No one can draw the line between risky speculation and safe investment. But an art a craft, being science in A Still-primitive state, has it general rules of behavior. Here are a few gleaned from scientific study of this unscientific field.
1- you can‘t compile a good track record by consulting the stars. Don‘t laugh. financial services have become rich-their clients haven‘t though-by selling astrological advice, and one man made a fortune purporting to interpret the signals being given in the comic strips!
2- Hunches work out to nothing in the long run.
3- The best brains in wall street scarcely do as well as the averages(Standard & poor ‘s,etc.). At first this seems surprising. they have all the money needed for any kind of research and digging. But remember, they are all competing with each other; and if here is a bargain for one man to see, it is also there for another; and hence it will already have been wiped out of existence by competitive bids.
4- Chartists claim to see in plots of stock prices " resistance levels," "gaps" head-and-soulder formations , "flag" "pennants" "channels"-all of which are supposed to improve your odds of guessing right. Knowing investors say: "the chartists generally end up with holes in their shoes. So forget it. "