US Physicists Make Weapons of Mass Financial Destruction

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[roxtar]

Re: US Physicists Make Weapons of Mass Financial Destruction

Note: While it was explained to me
in another thread that referencing articles from Rense would mean that I
"can expect to catch some flack," I'm not one to blanketly dismiss a source
of information, especially when the information is relevant.

While Rense and others of his ilk aren't exactly who I turn to for all of my information, I certainly don't discount them totally. I think they do a decent job of filling in the blanks on some stories.
Anyone that can watch or read the MSM and think that they're getting the whole story are the ones that should "expect to catch some flack".

[Chris]

Re: US Physicists Make Weapons of Mass Financial Destruction

Mmm...this article is slightly hysterical. When I was finishing my PhD in bio-physical simulation (in the UK) a lot of my contemporaries were taking up jobs with the big investment banks as credit and exotic derivatives quants. Some were picked up by mutuals to do fixed income modelling and others by hedge funds looking for new stats arb methods (;)). Hardly any stayed on to do post-doctoral work, mostly due to the absurd wage differential and the lack of research posts to accommodate them all.

Perhaps they are all naive (I doubt it), but none of them would say they were working towards evil ends. Most of them (who even thought about it. It isn't a necessary part of structuring or pricing.) really did think they were able to distribute the risks rather than concentrate them. People like the writers at Rense, with ideologically leaning against market capitalism, will always come up with interpretations like this as it strengthens support for their world view. It's far too simplistic a description of complex events and decisions over time.

[*T*]

Re: US Physicists Make Weapons of Mass Financial Destruction

Mmm...this article is slightly hysterical. When I was finishing my PhD in bio-physical simulation (in the UK) a lot of my contemporaries were taking up jobs with the big investment banks as credit and exotic derivatives quants. Some were picked up by mutuals to do fixed income modelling and others by hedge funds looking for new stats arb methods (;)). Hardly any stayed on to do post-doctoral work, mostly due to the absurd wage differential and the lack of research posts to accommodate them all.

Perhaps they are all naive (I doubt it), but none of them would say they were working towards evil ends. Most of them (who even thought about it. It isn't a necessary part of structuring or pricing.) really did think they were able to distribute the risks rather than concentrate them. People like the writers at Rense, with ideologically leaning against market capitalism, will always come up with interpretations like this as it strengthens support for their world view. It's far too simplistic a description of complex events and decisions over time.

I would hope most PhD physicists could spell "happyness" (sic). Perhaps it is a spoof.

Anyway, I left academia for finance, I did decide I was "making my bread by grinding the bones of the poor" (this is one exact phrase that sprang to mind at the time) and I did return to do post doctoral work. I am the only person I know to do that, and none of my many peers in finance see it that way.

[jiimbergin]

Re: US Physicists Make Weapons of Mass Financial Destruction

.

Perhaps they are all naive (I doubt it), but none of them would say they were working towards evil ends. Most of them (who even thought about it. It isn't a necessary part of structuring or pricing.) really did think they were able to distribute the risks rather than concentrate them. People like the writers at Rense, with ideologically leaning against market capitalism, will always come up with interpretations like this as it strengthens support for their world view. It's far too simplistic a description of complex events and decisions over time.

I only have a BS in Physics and Math, but when I graduated back in 1966, I became an Actuary. In my later years (1995 and 1996) I developed some exotic equity linked annuities. I sold most of the risk to Lehman. I know the quants there believed they were spreading the risk, but my own modeling told me they better have a lot of hedges to make sure these did not blow up on them. It looks like they did not.

[vinoveri]

Re: US Physicists Make Weapons of Mass Financial Destruction

From the comments section at
http://www.henrymakow.com/we_all_are...f_a_giant.html

It must be mentioned that in the USA most of the physics research is
supported by the Federal Government in one way or another. In the mid
90's due to serious budget cuts, research money started drying up.
Hundreds of PhDs were competing for one university job. So many gave up
and went for other options. Those were in banks and financial institutions.
...
...
I do not want to downgrade physicists (and I hope I am wrong) but one
needs to examine their involvement very carefully to understand the
dynamics of the present chaos.

Not to be interpretted as a defense of physicists, but the ones I know didn't go into the field because they wanted to build bombs (nuclear of financial). In fact, whether meek or arrogant, brilliant or average, they all were there because they had a deep interest in science and nature and thought physics the best course and building block for anything else. The fact that many (including myself) had our heads in the clouds and weren't thinking about getting a job or making money, and by our late 20s and early 30s after a post doc or two saw the writing on the wall, i.e., getting a tenured faculty position almost impossible, and to continue to do physics meant getting handouts from the gov, chose or were forced into other professions.