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The curvy lines on a technical analyst’s stock or commodity charts look like squiggles.  Actually, so do the lines on an electrocardiogram.  The two are related.  In each case, they are not without meaning.  The skilled physician can tell the state of his patient’s heart by studying the printed lines of the EKG.  Similarly, the technical analyst knows how to interpret the "squiggles" on a stock or commodity chart and can come to informed decisions respecting the likely course of the market in the next day, or week, or month.  One beauty of technical analysis is that it is a shorthand method of fundamental analysis, in that all known factors are (presumably) reflected in the fundamental analyst’s conclusion - and the technical analyst can come to his own informed conclusion in far less time.  The reason is that the "squiggles" throw off clues and, all together, tell a story which the technical analyst can use to his advantage.