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Now in paperback, "a compelling, accessible, and provocative piece of work that forces us to question many of our assumptions" (Gillian Tett, author of Fool's Gold).
Emanuel Derman was one of the financial engineers whose mathematical models became crucial for Wall Street. Theÿreliance investors put on such quantitative analysisÿwas catastrophic for the economy, setting off the ongoing string of financialÿcrises that began with the mortgage market in 2007 and continues today. Here Derman looks at why people-bankers in particular-still put so much faith in these models, and why it's a terrible mistake to do so.
ÿÿÿÿ Though financial models imitate the style of physics and employ the language of mathematics, ultimately they deal with human beings. In physics, theories aim for a description of reality; in finance, at best, models can shoot only for a simplistic and very limited approximation to it. Physicists and economists have been too enthusiastic to acknowledge the limits of their equations in the sphere of human behavior-which of course is what economics is all about.
ÿÿÿÿ Describing the collapse of the subprime mortgage CDO market in 2007, Derman urges us toÿstop the naIve reliance on these models, and offers suggestions for mending them. This is a fascinating, lyrical, and very human look behind the curtain at the intersection between mathematics and human nature.
"Ranging wittily across philosophy, literature, and the arcane world of high finance, Derman's argument is a heady mix of physics, economics, and memoir." --"Nature"
ISBN: 9781439164990
ISBN-10: 1439164991
Audience:
General
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 240
Published: 24th July 2012
Publisher: FREE PR
Dimensions (cm): 21.463 x 14.097
x 1.93
Weight (kg): 0.209
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