Am I Pretentious?
Why wouldn’t anybody want to read this blog?
Columns
Columns, French, Topical, Unpublished
Luddite Thoughts
Wondering if our so-called progress is actually a blind march toward chaos an anarchy, I present a slightly disorganized line of thought in this short piece.
Columns, The Wilmott Magazine, Quantitative Finance
Physics vs. Finance
The last post in this series of Love of Math looks at how math gets used in physics and finance. Or, more precisely, how one has to be careful about the assumptions in modeling stuff, and the pitfalls of (the lack of) error propagation.
Columns, The Wilmott Magazine, Topical, Quantitative Finance
Math and Patterns
Most kids love patterns. Math is just patterns. So is life. Math, therefore, is merely a formal way of describing life, or at least the patterns we encounter in life. So, where is the difficulty in loving maths? Here is the second post in this series.
Love of Math
This is another short series of posts on love of math — that questionable gift. Recently, I was asked to think about how to make kids love math. Here are my thoughts, as the first of three posts. This article will be published in Wilmott Magazine.
Columns, The Wilmott Magazine, Topical, Work and Life, Corporate Life, Quantitative Finance
In Our Defense
Here is an article defending (to some extent) the insane salary expectations of the elite bankers and traders. And quants. This piece will appear in my regular column in Wilmott Magazine.
Columns, Humor, The Today Paper
An Office Survival Guide
Pointers in surviving the corporate jungle. Newspaper column in Today on 14 June 2008.
[…] In the unforgiving, dog-eat-dog corporate jungle, you need to be sure of the welcome. More importantly, you need to prove yourself worthy of it. Fear not, I am here to help you through it. And I will gladly accept all credit for your survival, if you care to make it public. But I regret that we (this newspaper, me, our family members, dogs, lawyers and so on) cannot be held responsible for any untoward consequence of applying my suggestions. Come on, you should know better than to base your career on a newspaper column! […]
Columns, The Today Paper
Reading between the Lines
Newspaper column in Today on 17 May 2008.
When it comes to news, things are seldom what they seem. The media can colour news events while remaining technically objective and strictly factual. Faced with such insidiously accurate reporting, we have little choice but to read between the lines. […]
Good and Bad Gender Equality
The rights and wrongs of gender equality. Newspaper column in Today on 5 April 2008.
Corporate Life, Columns, The Today Paper, Work and Life
How Friendly is too Friendly?
Newspaper column in Today on March 1, 2008.
We all want to be the boss. At least some of us want to be the big boss at some, hopefully not-too-distant, future. It is good to be the boss. However, it takes quite a bit to get there. It takes credentials, maturity, technical expertise, people skills, communication and articulation, not to mention charisma and connections. Even with all the superior qualities, being a boss is tough. Being a good boss is even tougher; it is a tricky balancing act. One tricky question is, how friendly can you get with your team? […]
Columns, The Today Paper, Corporate Life
When the Going Gets Tough, Turn Around!
How to turn around gracefully? Newspaper column in Today on 19 Jan 2008.
Elton John is right, sorry is the hardest word. It is hard to admit that one has been wrong. Harder still is to find a way forward, a way to correct one’s past mistakes. It often involves backtracking. […]
Sophistication
How to market sophistication, a la francaise! Newspaper column in Today on 5 Jan 2008.
Sophistication is a French invention. The French are masters when it comes to nurturing, and more importantly, selling sophistication.