This Element is an excerpt from Technical Analysis Plain and Simple: Charting the Markets in Your Language, Third Edition (ISBN: 9780137042012) by Michael N. Kahn. Available in print and digital formats.

Why technical analysts rely on chartsand how you can start using simple charts to make better investment decisions.

Charts are everywhere. In the investment world, we usually chart price movements over time. Technical analysis recognizes that to know where prices are going, one must know where prices have been. But understanding the market from quotes is nearly impossible, and the more instruments are followed, the harder it is. Enter the chart....