In our era, there was an outstanding trader. When people asked how he achieved his success, he replied, "Trading doesn't require knowing too much." He added that this was related to his tendency to pay little attention to various other matters.  

Mr. Certainty had spent many years studying the Azhoff Numbers and the Merlin Wave Frequency. He invested considerable time and experience to build extensive knowledge in this area. He was also well-versed in the timeless works passed down by masters like Oerbot and Caljen. Indeed, he was a renowned expert in this field. His knowledge made him stubbornly focus on the market as he understood it, yet it was precisely this knowledge that prevented him from seeing reality clearly.  

As Sloman put it:  

"The third biggest obstacle to success in the market is not that we know too little, but that we know too much. We must forget everything we think we know to 'see' what is truly happening more clearly."  

In other words, we must be willing to surrender and follow the market's lead—rather than trying to force it into the narrow confines of our opinions and "knowledge."  

Does this mean studies on capital flows and all kinds of fundamental analysis should be shelved?  

Yes, exactly.  

If we don't do this, we won't maintain an objective attitude when observing the market. Unconsciously, we'll start anticipating market movements.  

Does this mean all technical analysis—such as volume, divergence indices, open interest, yield spreads, cycle analysis, wave structures, etc.—should be discarded like old shoes?  

Yes, exactly.  

Not only are these analyses ineffective for prediction, but such predictions and analyses also obscure our vision, preventing us from seeing reality directly. When observing the market, they pull us in all directions. In the process, we pay a heavy price because the third most important thing in trading disappears: "ignorance."  

Being able to predict is good, but when predictions diverge from reality, we must follow reality. Being able to analyze is good, but when analysis diverges from reality, we must follow reality. Having abundant knowledge is good, but when knowledge becomes disconnected from reality, we must follow reality.  

And what is reality? Simple: it's the direction the market is currently moving.  

We must reflect the market, follow it, and surrender to it. We should be willing to let go of what we think we know to see its true nature directly.  

Does this idea seem too simple? Not complex enough? Not worth considering? Readers must remember that the human mind loves complexity and struggles to accept simple things—precisely because they are too simple. Our mind will say, "This thing? This simple thing?" It's hard for our mind to assign any value to it, so such things are inevitably neglected.  

Also, remember that what we're discussing here is what works. We're not talking about something grand or complex—just something very simple: what works. Unfortunately, to the human mind, it's so simple that it's hardly worth spending time to understand.  

If we trade to make money, this is an ironclad truth. On the other hand, if we're in the market just for fun, or to have some "action," or to enjoy its allure, that's a different story.  

If so, then we should spend time reading market reports in newspapers and magazines, seeking others' opinions and hot tips, spending long hours on analysis, and—most importantly—collecting new "knowledge" about the market.  

Therefore, we should ask ourselves: Do we truly want to make money from trading? Is this really our goal? If so, then we must learn to do something extremely simple yet extremely difficult (because our minds resist it): "We must learn to abandon everything and surrender to the market."  

I was fortunate to observe one of the most outstanding traders for a long time—let's call him William. Even among other highly skilled traders, he was a legendary figure, often making huge profits. In his personal life, he was somewhat immature, but watching him trade was like observing a great artist or athlete in full flow. He didn't have a so-called trading system (incidentally, I puzzled over this for a long time and refused to believe it at first). He had no opinions or analyses of any kind and never used any method to predict the market. He was too smart to do such foolish things. So how did he trade? He followed the market—and did so with remarkable flexibility.  

Once, he was long forty S&P 500 contracts and was about to add more when the market suddenly reversed, dropping thirty points in a flash. Most people in this situation would freeze, staring at the screen in disbelief—but not William.  

He picked up the phone, confirmed what he saw on the screen, and immediately sold fifty contracts, effectively going short ten. Within about a minute, he had built a sixty-contract short position. In other words, within a minute, he went from long forty to short sixty. This short position earned him substantial profits.  

This dramatic shift gave me some insights, which were later confirmed in many other instances. What interested William most was maintaining trading flexibility, allowing him to respond to the market with full confidence. He never allowed any kind of opinion to stand in the way of flexibility. His results spoke for themselves.