Quants: The Alchemists of Wall Street (Marije Meerman, VPRO Backlight 2010)

Quants are the math wizards and computer programmers in the engine room of our global financial system who designed the financial products that almost crashed Wall st. The credit crunch has shown how the global financial system has become increasingly dependent on mathematical models trying to quantify human (economic) behaviour. Now the quants are at the heart of yet another technological revolution in finance: trading at the speed of light.

What are the risks of treating the economy and its markets as a complex machine? Will we be able to keep control of this model-based financial system, or have we created a monster?

A story about greed, fear and randomness from the insides of Wall Street.

Director: Marije Meerman
Research: Gerko Wessel

• Category

  News & Politics

[axe863]

A music nerd has no right to tell a math nerd to shut up. Let he who is without nerdiness cast the first stone.

[Dillion McDyver]

The idea is that a mistake was made by really smart people. I don't think so. I think the meltdown was by design and why today we have largely the same dynamics at work, yet on steriods. It is essentially a ruse.

[Plissken68]

For a great look at what really happened as this mess fell apart I encourage you to read the book by Michael Lewis called "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine".

[MrAnimeStealth]

"ya dont..."

"...no"

"well we were really dumbing it down were'nt we"

"yeah"

"oh dear"

[AZ W]

The next crash is already coming regardless of quants and this time it will sweep the world like a tidal wave and it will be even worse than the credit crunch. The next crash will be caused by the National Banks of America, UK and Germany.

[TheWhippinpost]

Could the camera possibly get closer to the faces of interviewees next time please? I couldn't quite count all the pores, which upsets my mathematical model. Thanking you.

[Michael Lawrence]

Everything that happens on the markets is by design, but rarely conscious design. It's more like the outcome of a game in which the rules are ever changing, but not everyone is aware of the latest changes.

[DonFuego1]

The meltdowns can't be by design, it's always a toss up who gets slaughtered and who lives. Last time thousands of hedge funds and billionaires went bankrupt, if it was possible to buy power and crash exchanges for profit why do other, poorer and less politically powerful billionaires and hedge funds succeed.