Not so long back, making a long distance call-even one that extended from one part of Britain to another-was a high-priced proposition, to say the least. Many older people well remember the about reverent tone that somebody would take when he told you he had an international call from an interesting town such as Dublin or Glasgow. The costs were high and timing was essential. Only in the direst of emergencies did one telephone long distance during peak hours.

I'm going to break down the complexities and differences between options and trading stocks. First off, stocks are simply one-dimensional trading vehicles, the dimension of "price movement". For example, you can go long a stock if you forecast a rise in the price of the underlying asset. You, as the stock trader, don't need to worry about time or changes in volatility affecting the outcome of your trade. You only need to focus on the asset's price movements.