October 29, 2007

Too many monkeys with razorblades!

Sir Stephen D. Young states quite strongly that “Professionals recognise that blindly following any model is foolish” and he is absolutely right but which leaves us with the problem of what to do when so many that are identified as professionals do. I have no problem with finance using sophisticated mathematical models, that’s what these tools are there for, but sometimes I get the impression that our professionals are sent too early to the frontiers without enough basic Boot Camp training. What are you to do if in the trenches your laptop suddenly stops functioning?

In my country, whenever some one goes out in real life believing too much in the tools he takes with him or having too much power for the knowledge he possesses, we usually refer to him as a “monkey with a razorblade”. May I suggest that too many monkeys with razorblades have joined the professionals?