Research may be defined as systematic investigation focused on expanding knowledge. At its core knowledge is the formalization of abstraction. It has been said that history doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes. This is true because both the past and future must each be a subset of reality. No event that has happened or will happen can be contrary to reality. Genuine knowledge provides a cause-and-effect structure to past events that allows for a sensible view of future events.

The nature of financial markets provides for abundant data. Vast amounts of data are nothing more than pretensions to knowledge. Without the benefit of knowledge however, the decision-making process regarding the future is either

• constrained by the past so as to be excessively limited in scope; or
• set free by imagination so as to be excessively permissive.

Central to the work at Sand Key Research is that knowledge transcends. . . history. . . a rule of thumb. . . an example. . . groupthink. . . noise. . . a correlation. . . datamining.