Why You Should Avoid
Duplicate Indicators?
Learn why using multiple similar indicators doesn't necessarily add analytical value, and can create a false sense of confirmation.
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This lesson addresses a commonly discussed pitfall: using multiple indicators that are highly similar to each other, which can create a misleading impression of stronger confirmation than actually exists.
This is general educational content describing a commonly discussed pitfall.
What Does 'Duplicate' Mean in This Context?
Duplicate indicators generally refers to using multiple tools that are built from very similar underlying calculations or that tend to move together closely, even if they have different names. For example, as covered in the KDJ unit, KDJ and the traditional Stochastic Oscillator share the same core %K/%D foundation — using both together provides little additional independent information beyond what either provides alone.
Why Duplication Can Create a False Sense of Confirmation
If two indicators are built from similar underlying logic, they will tend to signal similar things at similar times, which can create an illusion of strong, independent confirmation when, in reality, the same underlying information is simply being counted twice. This connects to the trend + momentum + volatility framework from the previous lesson, which is specifically designed to avoid this by drawing on genuinely different analytical dimensions.
Examples of Potentially Overlapping Indicator Pairs
As covered throughout this module, RSI and KDJ, while calculated differently, both function as bounded momentum oscillators with overbought/oversold zones, and can behave somewhat similarly to each other. Similarly, using multiple moving averages of very similar period lengths (such as a 48-period and 52-period average together) provides limited additional distinct information compared to using moving averages that are meaningfully different in period length, as covered in the Common Moving Average Periods lesson.
Choosing Genuinely Complementary Tools
Rather than adding indicators simply for the sake of using more tools, a more effective approach — consistent with the trend/momentum/volatility framework from the previous lesson — involves deliberately selecting indicators that provide genuinely different types of information, so that agreement between them reflects real, independent confirmation, rather than restating the same underlying calculation in a different visual form.
🔖 Summary
Using multiple indicators built from similar underlying logic — such as RSI and KDJ together, or two moving averages with nearly identical periods — can create a false sense of strong confirmation, since the same underlying information is effectively counted twice rather than independently verified. Deliberately selecting genuinely complementary tools, following the trend/momentum/volatility framework from the previous lesson, helps ensure that agreement between indicators reflects real, independent confirmation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 'duplicate indicators' mean?
Using multiple tools built from very similar underlying calculations or that tend to move together closely, even with different names.
Why is this considered a pitfall?
It can create a false sense of strong confirmation, when the same underlying information is effectively being counted twice rather than genuinely independently confirmed.
What is an example of potentially overlapping indicators?
RSI and KDJ, both bounded momentum oscillators with overbought/oversold zones, or two moving averages with very similar period lengths.
How can this pitfall be avoided?
By deliberately selecting indicators that provide genuinely different types of information, such as the trend/momentum/volatility framework from the previous lesson.
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