4 ms·

I clicked on the link just to find out what a "Quant" was. Answer: quantitative analysts

by larrik 10y ago

jasonkostempski 10y ago
Me too. Looks like it's been used for a while but I never saw until this week and this was the second time I saw it. Sounds derogatory.
- insaneirish 10y ago
  Not new and not derogatory: https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Quant-Reflections-Physics/dp/0470192739 https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Quant-Reflections-Physics/dp/...
  - melling 10y ago
    And it's not a term new to HN: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=quant%20&sort=byPopularity&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=pastYear&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=quant%20&sort=byPopularity&pre... Why do people play TIL on HN?
  - ryanmonroe 10y ago
    In the book he notes that it started out as a derogatory term. Can't find the quote in the book but I found this http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/magazine/16FOB-OnLanguage-t.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/magazine/16FOB-OnLanguage-... "When I asked Derman recently about his early years in finance, he said that at first he felt that quant, like rocket scientist before it, was largely a derogatory put-down for the brainy newcomers, many of them foreign-born: 'two-thirds pejorative, one-third grudging praise,' by his calculation."
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- jedmeyers 10y ago
  Here is a quite amusing clip "Jenga" from the movie The Big Short on this topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpsI_Gvn7C8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpsI_Gvn7C8 BTW, most quants that I know don't find the term derogatory, quite the opposite.
  - jasonkostempski 10y ago
    I wasn't trying to suggest that it's actually used in a derogatory way, just that, as someone hearing it for the first time, it's feels like harsh word.
- derogator 10y ago
  It is not derogatory. It is an abbreviation commonly used among finincial experts to denote a particular discipline of expertise. Jargon, parlance, slang.
  - jasonkostempski 10y ago
    I should have consulted with the authority on derogatory terms before posting such a thoughtless comment. Thank you for the correction, lord derogator :) But, again, I wasn't saying it actually is a derogatory word, it just has the harsh sound of one. Maybe it's just because it sort of rhymes with the derogatoriest word of all.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- kchoudhu 10y ago
  Quants are the guys who run the math so that the bat-wielding psychopaths that are traders don't accidentaly shoot their feet off. They usually have PHDs. They have some prestige on the trading floor. Edit: They don't literally have bats, you guys. But when the guy who's paying you ~250K a year looks over your shoulder and asks for a risk report, the effect is more or less the same.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    > so that the bat-wielding psychopaths that are traders don't accidentaly shoot their feet off. How do you accidentally shoot your feet of with a bat?
    - thenewwazoo 10y ago
      By bringing a knife to the fight, of course.
  - infinite8s 10y ago
    I've noticed that on trading floors. Why do traders keep bats at their desks? Are they actually intimating threats of violence to support staff who are stuck on the floor dealing with them?
    - yellowstuff 10y ago
      I think the bats are mostly intended to be humorous, but at least occasionally they are actually used as weapons. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/ex-barclays-trader-in-libor-case-says-his-boss-hit-him-with-bat http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/ex-barclay...
      - rz2k 10y ago
        Hitting someone with a 12-inch bat is probably better than stabbing a cab driver with a penknife.[1] [1] http://dealbreaker.com/2012/12/in-wake-of-exec-accidentally-stabbing-a-cab-driver-morgan-stanley-insists-you-ask-what-would-the-post-say/ http://dealbreaker.com/2012/12/in-wake-of-exec-accidentally-...
cloudjacker 10y ago
Wait till you realize that the highly paid "Quant Library Architect" at Bloomberg is just a java developer that makes shared components between different projects

I clicked on the link just to find out what a "Quant" was. Answer: quantitative analysts

by larrik 10y ago

I clicked on the link just to find out what a "Quant" was. Answer: quantitative analysts

Me too. Looks like it's been used for a while but I never saw until this week and this was the second time I saw it. Sounds derogatory.

insaneirish 10y ago
Not new and not derogatory: https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Quant-Reflections-Physics/dp/0470192739 https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Quant-Reflections-Physics/dp/...
- melling 10y ago
  And it's not a term new to HN: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=quant%20&sort=byPopularity&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=pastYear&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=quant%20&sort=byPopularity&pre... Why do people play TIL on HN?
- ryanmonroe 10y ago
  In the book he notes that it started out as a derogatory term. Can't find the quote in the book but I found this http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/magazine/16FOB-OnLanguage-t.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/magazine/16FOB-OnLanguage-... "When I asked Derman recently about his early years in finance, he said that at first he felt that quant, like rocket scientist before it, was largely a derogatory put-down for the brainy newcomers, many of them foreign-born: 'two-thirds pejorative, one-third grudging praise,' by his calculation."
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
jedmeyers 10y ago
Here is a quite amusing clip "Jenga" from the movie The Big Short on this topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpsI_Gvn7C8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpsI_Gvn7C8 BTW, most quants that I know don't find the term derogatory, quite the opposite.
- jasonkostempski 10y ago
  I wasn't trying to suggest that it's actually used in a derogatory way, just that, as someone hearing it for the first time, it's feels like harsh word.
derogator 10y ago
It is not derogatory. It is an abbreviation commonly used among finincial experts to denote a particular discipline of expertise. Jargon, parlance, slang.
- jasonkostempski 10y ago
  I should have consulted with the authority on derogatory terms before posting such a thoughtless comment. Thank you for the correction, lord derogator :) But, again, I wasn't saying it actually is a derogatory word, it just has the harsh sound of one. Maybe it's just because it sort of rhymes with the derogatoriest word of all.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
kchoudhu 10y ago
Quants are the guys who run the math so that the bat-wielding psychopaths that are traders don't accidentaly shoot their feet off. They usually have PHDs. They have some prestige on the trading floor. Edit: They don't literally have bats, you guys. But when the guy who's paying you ~250K a year looks over your shoulder and asks for a risk report, the effect is more or less the same.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > so that the bat-wielding psychopaths that are traders don't accidentaly shoot their feet off. How do you accidentally shoot your feet of with a bat?
  - thenewwazoo 10y ago
    By bringing a knife to the fight, of course.
- infinite8s 10y ago
  I've noticed that on trading floors. Why do traders keep bats at their desks? Are they actually intimating threats of violence to support staff who are stuck on the floor dealing with them?
  - yellowstuff 10y ago
    I think the bats are mostly intended to be humorous, but at least occasionally they are actually used as weapons. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/ex-barclays-trader-in-libor-case-says-his-boss-hit-him-with-bat http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/ex-barclay...
    - rz2k 10y ago
      Hitting someone with a 12-inch bat is probably better than stabbing a cab driver with a penknife.[1] [1] http://dealbreaker.com/2012/12/in-wake-of-exec-accidentally-stabbing-a-cab-driver-morgan-stanley-insists-you-ask-what-would-the-post-say/ http://dealbreaker.com/2012/12/in-wake-of-exec-accidentally-...

cloudjacker 10y ago

Wait till you realize that the highly paid "Quant Library Architect" at Bloomberg is just a java developer that makes shared components between different projects