Are you really aware?
Lately I saw a commercial for one of those multi-screen-computers in a trading magazine. It was about one of those systems you can use with up to 8 or 12 screens if you feel the need.
That would give you enough screen real estate to display most charts and pages on a separate screen.
But are those systems really as useful as they seem to be? Could I be a better trader with 8 instead of 4 monitors? (Sometimes I only use a Notebook for trading)
I know, it looks pretty professional and important having one of those multi-screen-systems in your trading room. You can display many charts, different news pages, dozens of indicators and 100´s of numbers will flash on your screens simultaneously. (And don’t forget a TV showing CNBC or Bloomberg)
Controlling this “machine” can give you the feeling that you are able to control something very big and complicated.
But did you ever think about how much of the information displayed on those screens your mind is actually aware of? It’s less than you may think.
Listen to this:
In a casual situation there are flashing 109 information into your brain, but you are only able to process about 10³.
Because of this your unconscious mind has to cross out information it regards as useless all day! And that normally works out pretty fine.
You can compare this process with an mp3 file. To compress the file, a lot of information is crossed out, which the human ear can’t hear anyway. So it doesn’t really matter. But if you increase the information input, you will begin to miss important things (which in this case are displayed right in front of your eyes) and this might confuse you a lot.
I am not saying that it’s bad to have a multi-screen-system. It can make your work a little bit easier and you don’t have to pop up and minimize all those windows all day. What I am trying to point out is, that your brain is not capable of absorbing all information that is shown throughout the 8 monitor screens at the same time. It could be more productive for one to settle with fewer monitors (especially for beginners).
So be aware that the human brain is limited and try to concentrate on the important information at the time.
To experience this phenomenon try this little awareness test (it was a real eye-opener to me):