Then go do it!
For me, I like doing the impossible. If no one has done it before, I don't need to get bogged down by books or stackoverflow. (And, you don't need a degree.) I have to figure out new ways to solve a problem. That's what makes programming fun and that is what makes this sort of stuff fun.
Like just the other day I figured out how to compress arm movement down to, so far, 4 variables (all floats atm), for every reasonably large change of movement. (Though, for small tremors while walking and other kinds of movements I'll need to output some more data.) My goal is to increase the accuracy of the signal beyond the initial noisy accelerometer data. The pain is going to be proving it through a high speed video camera or something else (Got any ideas? lol) because I'm designing this to be accurate to real life arm movement, not accurate to initial data. (If you're curious, an ellipsoid, plus an axis for like looking at a watch, and possibly a magic number or a large radius for a straight line.)
Does HN do PMs? If you want to hang out we probably have a lot in common. Though, I'm untrained and just kind of unusual.
Oh btw, I'm not sure if it is obvious, and not like I've read a book on the subject, but as far as economics goes I would think meta macro economics would help day trading. But what do I know? I'm just a rabbit.