Air Particle Measurement

In My Life as a Quant, Emanuel Derman relives his exciting journey as one of the first high-energy particle physicists to migrate to Wall Street. Page by page, Derman details his adventures in this field—analyzing the incompatible personas of traders and quants, and discussing the dissimilar nature of knowledge in physics and finance. Throughout this tale, he also reflects on the appropriate way to apply the refined methods of physics to the hurly-burly world of markets.

Amazon Sales Rank: #197956 in Books Published on: 2007-12-21 Original language: English Number of items: 1 Dimensions: 8.94" h x .79" w x 5.94" l, .83 pounds Binding: Paperback 308 pages

Review "There are few "gentlemen bankers" left these days. Nor is there much room in the great financial houses for anything that smacks of the amateur spirit. That is why Emanuel Derman's memoirs are so compelling…Derman's wry humour and sense of irony are apparent throughout the book."- Financial Times"That sense of being an intruder in outlaw territory lends an intriguing mood to Derman's My Life As a Quant, a literate and entertaining memoir."-Business Week"engaging"--(CFO Europe, October 2005)"Not only a delightful memoir, but one full of information, both about people and their enterprise. I never thought that I would be interested in quantitative financial analysis, but reading this book has been a fascinating education."–Jeremy Bernstein, author of Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma"This wonderful autobiography takes place in that special time when scientists discovered Wall Street and Wall Street discovered them. It is elegantly written by a gifted observer who was a pioneering member of the new profession of financial engineering, with an evident affection both for finance as a science and for the scientists who practice it. Derman’s portrait of how the academics brought their new financial science to the world of business and forever changed it and, especially, his descriptions of the late and extraordinary genius Fischer Black who became his mentor, reveal a surprising humanity where it might be least expected. Who should read this book? Anyone with a serious interest in finance and everyone who simply wants to enjoy a good read."–Stephen Ross, Franco Modigliani Professor of Finance and Economics, Sloan School, MIT From the Inside Flap Wall Street is no longer the old-fashioned business it once was. In recent years, investment banks and hedge funds have increasingly turned to quantitative trading strategies and derivative securities for their profits, and have raided academia for PhDs to model these volatile products and manage their risk. Nowadays, the fortunes of firms and the stability of markets often rest on mathematical models. "Quants"–the scientifically trained practitioners of quantitative finance who build these models–have become key players on the Wall Street stage.And no Wall Street quant is better known than Emanuel Derman. One of the first high-energy particle physicists to migrate to Wall Street, he spent seventeen years in the business, eventually becoming managing director and head of the renowned Quantitative Strategies group at Goldman, Sachs & Co. There he coauthored some of today’s most widely used and influential financial models. Physics and quantitative finance look deceptively similar. But, writes Derman, "When you do physics you’re playing against God; in finance, you’re playing against God’s creatures." How can one justify using the precise methods of physics in the frenzied world of financial markets? Is it reasonable to treat the economy and its markets as a complex machine? Or is quantitative finance merely flawed thinking masquerading as science, a brave whistling in the dark?My Life as a Quant is Derman’s entertaining and candid account of his search for answers as he undergoes his transformation from ambitious young scientist to managing director. His book is simultaneously wide-ranging and personal. He tells the story of his passage between two worlds; he recounts his adventures with physicists, quants, options traders, and other highfliers on Wall Street; he analyzes the incompatible personas of traders and quants; and he meditates on the dissimilar natures of knowledge in physics and finance. Throughout his tale, he reflects on the appropriate way to apply the refined methods of physics to the hurly-burly world of markets. My Life as a Quant is a unique first-person story and a perceptive and revealing exploration of the quantitative side of Wall Street. From the Back Cover Praise for My Life as a Quant"My Life as a Quant, by Emanuel Derman is, indeed, a perfect memoir, as Derman, a South African–born physicist turned financial engineer, is a perfect memoirist." --Grant's Interest Rate Observer"That sense of being an intruder in outlaw territory lends an intriguing mood to Derman's My Life as a Quant, a literate and entertaining memoir."--BusinessWeek"Derman's memoir of his transition from mathematical physicist to expert finance whiz at Goldman Sachs and Salomon Brothers reads like a novel, but tells a lot about brains applied to making money grow."--Paul A. Samuelson, MIT, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, 1970"Elegantly written by a gifted observer who was a pioneering member of the new profession of financial engineering with an evident affection both for finance as a science and for the scientists who practice it. Derman's portrait of how the academics brought their new financial science to the world of business and his descriptions of the late and extraordinary genius Fischer Black who became his mentor, reveal a surprising humanity where it might be least expected."--Stephen Ross, Franco Modigliani Professor of Finance and Economics, Sloan School, MIT" a deep and elegant exploration by a thinker who moved from the hardest of all sciences (physics) to the softest of the soft (finance). Derman is a different class of thinker... I know of no other book that bridges the two cultures."--Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness

Most helpful customer reviews 96 of 106 people found the following review helpful. The Human Side of Quantitative Finance -- Great Read! By Rico Blaser The book commences with a history of physics that is reminiscent of "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene. From Newton to Maxwell to Einstein and beyond, Derman discovers the great theories of yesterday and finds himself in the middle of a seven year marathon to a PhD and the launch of his academic career.The struggle for intellectual purity and the distain for applied work abound in Derman's academic environment and the pressures of achieving greatness are pronounced in a place where genius is a commodity.In a leap of faith, Derman decides to return to New York to spend more time with his family and to surrender to what he considered a less dignified job.Lost in the Dilbert-esque hierarchies of the Bell Labs, Derman discovers the joy of programming, while submerged in office politics. After numerous attempts of beating the currents, Derman finally reaches the shores of Wall Street and is relieved to find an avant-garde environment, where meritocracy is no longer a foreign word.The initial period of awakening takes place at Goldman Sachs, where he is mentored by Fischer Black, one of the great financial practitioners of our time. Derman is immediately impressed by Black's pragmatic style and intuitive quest for simplicity.Black's influence becomes evident in the lucid and accessible description of the famous Black-Derman-Toy interest rate model and the subsequent elaborations on local volatility models that are at the foundation of more exotic instruments (which cannot be accurately priced using the overly simplistic implied volatility provided by the Black-Scholes-Merton model).The author discusses the process of deriving original models and emphasizes that the elegant stochastic calculus derivations of these models are deceptively simple and make it difficult for students to fully appreciate the amount of effort that went into developing the initial embodiments -- what seems obvious now was once heavily debated.Armed with the recently acquired knowledge, Derman accepts a new challenge at Salomon Brothers, doubling his compensation in the process. Unfortunately, the unhealthy competitiveness at Salomon forces him to reconsider quickly and he returns to Goldman after an undeserved layoff. The roundtrip allows Derman to develop an appreciation for the collaborative environment at Goldman.Throughout the book, the interactions with family members, professors, bosses, traders, programmers and sales people are both amusing and enlightening. Derman succeeds in blending physics, finance, and human emotion in this masterful and entertaining autobiography. 35 of 37 people found the following review helpful. Not really what I expected... By gilstrac It was an interesting read but not what I expected.It is my own fault. I bought it because the title (Physics and Finance) caught my eye and the average rating and number of reviews was high. I would guess it is not a heavily embellished memoir. Emanuel appears to be an honest, practical and educated individual. I found myself in the beginning wondering when I would start to read something about his life as a Quant. I don't know the exact page but I was probably half way through the book before I got my first taste. In the end I found it like most things I have not personally experienced, it is more romantic to dream than live. This is not to say he didn't do good things. It just means for every minute of success and enjoyment there are hundreds if not thousands of minutes of grind and perseverance. The grind is not always so well documented.Due to my age, I did find myself identifying with Emanuel as he changed from a wide eyed youth ready to change the world to a more pragmatic successful adult. I still envy the enthusiasm lack of experience provides younger people.I wouldn't recommend it to someone looking for insights in to physics or