All I can say is that 8/10 are losers is highly improbable. Given no other information, if you enter a trade there is a 50/50 chance that the next tick is going to be up or down. But notice I said given no other information, there is much more information from the behavior of the charts. If you are a small player the charts will help you be right more than 50% of the time. The rest is how your algorithms and trading methodology take advantage of the information.
10K is too little. Statistically speaking, a small draw down can wipe out your acount. Most professionals have stop losses to limited their loss to 1-2% of their account. Google "trading money-management". You probably want to paper trade for a while before risking real money. If you are really interested in markets you can follow it as a hobby while working as a programmer. I used Interactive Brokers for trading futures, fx, options and stocks. They are low-cost and provides an API for automation. I write java code for my own personal "proprietary desk trading".
Father of Information Theory is a little-known character ? I think not. His master thesis is the "most significant masters thesis in the 20th century".
Shannon is only a little-known character if one has been stranded on a desert island for the last 70 years, without any contact with the rest of the world...
Sadly that applies to a lot of the general population, I would say it even apply to several people having a degree or working in fields related to computer science.
Maybe this is due to the fact that Shannon's work is quite theoretical. Sure, his work had an immense impact, but it's "behind the curtains", so to say. The point I am trying to make is that Coding is an enabling technology, i.e., it serves to enable reliable communication, but it's a means towards an end, not an end in itself. A lot of people think communication is about two antennas and something floating around in the air is transmitted between them, and somehow the receiver is able to guess the message that the transmitter sent. Well, the transmitter can do that because of coding schemes, but that's too technical for most people.
Another field which suffers from the same problem is Controls. It's also an enabling technology in the sense that it allows man-made mechanisms and devices to work as desired. Most people think airplanes fly because they have wings, when in fact they fly because they have controls.
The article wants to portray Paulson as a likable guy. However, I will never forget that he help his old firm Goldman Sachs steal trillions from the pockets of the American people. For this is what he should be remembered in the history books.
http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/6.828/2009/