Serving the Quantitative Finance Community

 
User avatar
Omar
Posts: 1
Joined: August 27th, 2001, 12:17 pm

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

December 28th, 2001, 10:07 am

"I think it's better when I shut up because it is useless"I think so too, but for a different reason.
 
User avatar
EOAdvocate
Posts: 1
Joined: October 30th, 2001, 1:40 am

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

December 28th, 2001, 6:13 pm

If world peace doesn't do it, how about equity for all? And my resolution, to be more risk neutral and worry less about $. Happy New Year to all.EOAdvocate, but then I keep thinking about Enron . . .
 
User avatar
J
Posts: 1
Joined: November 1st, 2001, 12:53 am

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

December 29th, 2001, 12:00 am

May this world will no longer be dog-eat-dog !
 
User avatar
Hamilton
Posts: 1
Joined: July 23rd, 2001, 6:25 pm

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

December 29th, 2001, 4:40 am

>I keep thinking about Enron....>dog eat dog....>"AAAAAFLAAAAAC"Anyways, some of the juicy gossip, masquerading as serious journalism, is starting to leak out via Fortune magazine about Enron. Seems that a certain executive, ex of McKinsey [aka God's consulting firm when he has a tough problem] instituted a 20% weed out rotation policy. ie rank the workforce and fire the bottom 20%.As background for all non-capitalists reading this, many fine firms have built large market capitalizations using this method. Oracle was ruthless in ranking and firing bottom performing sales people every quarter. Xerox put such pressure on their sales people that a best seller purported that sales people would throw up into wastebaskets beside their desks in between phone calls from the intense pressure to perform. Sort of like the movie GlenGarry Glenn Ross but without all the tender moments.So, this caused me to thinking. If a former bloodthirsty consultant invades your particular investment bank and institutes a similar policy but cranks up the percentage to say 50% or more, do you think that the pressure would get so intense that people would start eating each other?I don't either, but just think of the fun rumours that you can start.
 
User avatar
Paul
Posts: 6604
Joined: July 20th, 2001, 3:28 pm

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

December 29th, 2001, 10:25 am

Bertrand Russell:"If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have a paradise in a few years."P
 
User avatar
Omar
Posts: 1
Joined: August 27th, 2001, 12:17 pm

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

December 29th, 2001, 10:55 am

I read (parts of) Russell's autobiography ages ago. I remember he said something along the lines of"There are people who are unhappy, not because there is any reason to be unhappy, but because they hold beliefs that are more important to them than happiness".That's probably more true today than when Russell wrote it more than 30 years ago.
 
User avatar
Paul
Posts: 6604
Joined: July 20th, 2001, 3:28 pm

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

December 29th, 2001, 11:01 am

I read (parts of) Russell's autobiography ages ago. I remember he said something along the lines of"There are people who are unhappy, not because there is any reason to be unhappy, but because they hold beliefs that are more important to them than happiness".That's probably more true today than when Russell wrote it more than 30 years ago. >>But that is the individual's problem. P
 
User avatar
Omar
Posts: 1
Joined: August 27th, 2001, 12:17 pm

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

December 29th, 2001, 11:12 am

"But that is the individual's problem."Yes, but sometimes it's one that we have to bear the brunt of.
 
User avatar
reza
Topic Author
Posts: 6
Joined: August 30th, 2001, 3:40 pm

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

December 29th, 2001, 11:00 pm

Russel is right. It's about envy ...we are all subject to it from time to time, I know I amthe key is to be bigger than that ... at least we should try
 
User avatar
EOAdvocate
Posts: 1
Joined: October 30th, 2001, 1:40 am

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

January 4th, 2002, 6:12 pm

That form of government is best in which every man whoever he is can act best and live happily.Aristotle, Politics Book III, 1324A l 24-25, per my son the philosopher.quite similar to Russell. Too bad Nash couldn't do this.EOAdvocate
 
User avatar
exoticow

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

January 7th, 2002, 9:44 am

Happy new year to all from exoticow!Going back to the initial topic...I wish for less ignorance in the world, that would solve a lot And as for resolutions, hopefully I will start going to the gym and swear less!
 
User avatar
DiceMan
Posts: 0
Joined: November 5th, 2001, 1:41 pm

2002: Wishes and Resolutions

February 25th, 2002, 3:33 pm

Bertrand Russell:
"If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have a paradise in a few years."

P >>

I saw the results of a British academic study in Metro a couple of weeks ago. Basically there were about 50 people playing some game and the profits were public during the game. The players would keep the money after the expirement. The thing is the players had the right to pay in order to see someone else's profit go down. About half of the money won by the players was spent on making other players profits go down...