In the good-ole days of the 90s...when structured notes reigned the universe, quants (heavy-hitters-type, of-course) were seen “lurking” around in the sin cities of Las Vegas and Monte Carlo with super models. Stories from that era will make for a block-buster movie…

Quantie:The book you referred to below is by Jan Dash. Jan is very nice guy, and much of a behind the scene type at Smith Barney. His old papers on path integrals and option pricing were circulated in this forum sometimes ago. Unlike E. Derman that had the good fortune to have worked with Fisher Black, and stayed pretty well within the received framework of finance, Jan attempted to attack problems from less than conventional standpoints, which in my estimation endeared him less with many quants.

Jan Dash reads this forum, but he doesn't post (as far as I know).

QuoteOriginally posted by: Paulc3, to wind you up even further...Contents:Prologue: The Two Cultures1. Elective Affinities2. Dog Years3. A Sort of Life4. A Sentimental Education5. The Mandarins6. Knowledge of the Higher Worlds7. In the Penal Colony8. Stop-Time9. Transformer10. Easy Travel to Other Planets11. Force of Circumstance12. A Severed Head13. Civilization & Its Discontents14. Laughter in the Dark15. The Snows of Yesteryear16. The Great Pretender - William Hamilton exposed as Turing Machine17. Claudia, Naomi and MeP

Paul, We are waiting for your autobiography to fill that gap H.

Just to recap on the books mentioned in the thread:- My Life as a Quant- Quantitative Finance and Risk Management- Reminiscences of a Stock Operator- Liar's Poker- Barbarians at the Gate- Den of Thieves- F.I.A.S.C.O.- Monkey BusinessSuzanne

For a while now, I've felt that there is room for a book on collected experiences of Quants. Sort of like the "Market Wizards" book, but a bit more technical. One form would be a novel based upon real stories with names changed to protect the guilty. A working title would be:" Schrodinger's Cat is dead, A physicist sells out. "I observe that some of the best selling books in the general market are mildly challenging. Thus there would be 2 audiences. People who understand it, and people who would like people who think they understand it.(3 rd audience is friends of people who give the impression they understand it, and 4th market is giving it to people who stand no chance of ever understanding it ever as a joke). Gift market is important in books.

ditto, I think that the book on quant's experience collection on in/formal and technical note would sell veeeeeery well

QuoteOriginally posted by: quantieJust noticed that another physicist-ex-bell labs-quant whose book is coming this fallhttp://www.worldscientific.com/books/economics/5436.htmlhas a chapter titled "Life as a Quant: Communication Issues, Sociology, Stories, Advice" Sorry, but I'm a bit confused: I'm holding the book in my hand - where is the chapter entitled "Life as a Quant: Communication Issues, Sociology, Stories, Advice" ?

QuoteOriginally posted by: quantieI don't have the book, but there seems to be a Table of Contents here:QuoteQuantitative Finance and Risk Management - A Physicist's Approach by Jan W. Dash Table of Contents 1. Standard and Advanced Theory and Practical Applications in Fixed Income, Equities, FX. 2. Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Topics: Traditional and Exotic Derivatives, Market Risk, Credit Issuer Risk, Stressed Correlation Matrices, Fat Tails, Stressed/Enhanced VAR, Model Risk/Quality Assurance, Numerical Techniques, Deals/Portfolios, Systems, Data, Economic Capital, Reggeon Field Theory, A Function Toolkit. 3. Case Studies in Corporate Finance and Options. 4. "Life as a Quant": Communication Issues, Sociology, Stories, Advice.5. Risk Lab: The Nuts and Bolts of Risk Management. 6. Research Topic: The Macro-Micro Model Producing Realistic Yield-Curve Movements, While Combining Aspects of Economics and Finance (with Multiple Time Scales, Multiple Factors, Quasi-Random Macro Trends, Strong Mean-Reverting Micro Trading Fluctuations, Occasional Jumps). 7. Feynman Path Integrals, Green Functions, and Options. I suspect that the above Table of Contents is from an older version relative to what was actually published. The book I have has six parts, with a total of 52 chapters:Part I: Introduction, Overview and ExercisePart II: Risk Lab (Nuts and Bolts of Risk Management)Part III: Exotics, Deal annd Case StudiesPart IV: Quantitative Risk ManagementPart V: Path Integrals, Greens Functions and OptionsPart VI: The Macro-Micro Model (A Research Topic)None of the chapters within these sections has a title "Life as a Quant": Communication Issues, Sociology, Stories, Advice".

I'm looking forward to getting this book. I'v ordered by Amazon. Still need to wait for more 1week. hmm.

mini book review: this book is fascinating reading, especially for me, as I was also a practising physicist turned quant, but then turned trader back in the pre-VaR days when you were rewarded for taking enormous risk positions. although i left physics after he did, i experienced many of the same professional and emotional issues that he did, and i participated in many of the modelling struggles that he did, albeit as a hybrid quant/trader. his book is a great insight into the trials and tribulations of the quant groups he worked in, the perception of quants by business, etc. one thing he wrote about struck me: in the early days i was told by my boss to have my business cards reprinted without any reference to "Dr" or "PhD", as i would never be taken seriously as a business side peson if they knew i had been a scientist. this is still true actually - if someone wanted to marginalise me in a meeting in a bank, they would say that i did "mathematical quanty stuff that we can't understand - ha ha ha!". they would however omit the 15 years experience trading fixed income, currency and equity derivatives!at times reading the book i almost felt embarassed as he opened up, showing his deep feelings on certain issues. but i think reading this will make many other "retreaded scientists" look back on their experiences in a new light.my rating: 5 out of 5 slide rules...

I also enjoyed reading the book. 5 out of 5 also.But having talked so much about risk etc. I wonder why Derman did not spend time describing the times of the buble burst..."how it felt to be inside the the firm in those fews days of huge drops in prices? and how the days of a quant passed during those times? How the risk desk reacted? Personal stories there would have been a good add.Demian

Does he give a good description, meaning an intuitive description, of BDT?QuoteOriginally posted by: DemianI also enjoyed reading the book. 5 out of 5 also.But having talked so much about risk etc. I wonder why Derman did not spend time describing the times of the buble burst..."how it felt to be inside the the firm in those fews days of huge drops in prices? and how the days of a quant passed during those times? How the risk desk reacted? Personal stories there would have been a good add.Demian