Stock charts come in two main forms%3A Linear and logarithmic Linear charts treat all dollar price changes equally Professional investors look at both types of charts to understand stock moves USA ...

Logarithmic scales have other advantages as well. Returning to the APPL charts above, it is impossible to imagine drawing a trendline connecting the series of lows in 2003 on up through 2008.

The second finding, however, is the key weakness of a log chart: people have a hard time interpreting the scale. In the log chart, the final dot looks like it’s at around 60-70,000 deaths or so.

Bitcoin and crypto have been growing and behaving logarithmically. Crudely, that is a compound growth of 26% per time period. Ten periods of 26% gets you to a total 1,000%.

How is the data being displayed? The kind of chart you’re looking at also matters. Peaks are even harder to see if charts use a logarithmic scale, which many COVID-19 visualizations do.

A logarithmic chart makes it much easier to see the true impact of percentage changes on a chart. IBD's weekly charts are based on a logarithmic scale.

Technicians looking at the log chart will be looking for a move back to record highs above $0.25 and on towards $0.45. That would mark an astonoshing 250% gain from current levels.

Logarithmic scales have other advantages as well. On the linear chart, it is impossible to imagine drawing a trendline connecting the series of lows in 2003 on up through 2008.