  We construct a financial "Turing test" to determine whether human subjects
can differentiate between actual vs. randomized financial returns. The
experiment consists of an online video-game (http://arora.ccs.neu.edu) where
players are challenged to distinguish actual financial market returns from
random temporal permutations of those returns. We find overwhelming statistical
evidence (p-values no greater than 0.5%) that subjects can consistently
distinguish between the two types of time series, thereby refuting the
widespread belief that financial markets "look random." A key feature of the
experiment is that subjects are given immediate feedback regarding the validity
of their choices, allowing them to learn and adapt. We suggest that such novel
interfaces can harness human capabilities to process and extract information
from financial data in ways that computers cannot.
