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Can someone explain this mindset to me? That there is somehow a fixed amount of mathematical talent in the world and if there are people whose preferences make
by sskates 14y ago
Can someone explain this mindset to me? That there is somehow a fixed amount of mathematical talent in the world and if there are people whose preferences make taking a job in HFT optimal then society is necessarily worse off.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- jberryman 14y agoWell, speaking broadly about finance vs other more productive fields of human endeavor, there is a staggering amount of brain drain of the (very much finite) graduates of ivy league schools to the finance industry: http://www.wbur.org/npr/146434854/stopping-the-brain-drain-of-the-u-s-economy http://www.wbur.org/npr/146434854/stopping-the-brain-drain-o... I think it's obvious that that doesn't mesh with the narrative we tell ourselves about the importance of higher education to society at large.
- MBlume 14y agoUh, where do you think we can get more mathematical talent from? At the end of the day, there's only so many people at the right end of the bell curve.
- MarkMc 14y agoI don't think it assumes a fixed amount of talent. Perhaps a hypothetical analogy can help: Imagine that a tax of 0.000001% is applied to every stockmarket transaction, and the proceeds are given to the top 10 people who can best memorise the digits of PI. Most people would say that this scheme necessarily makes society worse off. Would you oppose this hypothetical scheme? If so, what is the significant difference between it and HFT?