>But, but, but... thanks to modern technology, aren't there so many better o...

wnight · on June 14, 2011

Sure, spend your life working on whatever you want, even something selfish. It does decrease what you could do elsewhere and as such has opportunity costs, but as you say it's your choice.

But "finance" means theft these days. It's only wildly profitable because our economic/justice system is fundamentally flawed and nobody is allowed to stop playing.

That would be disappointing to see a useful person seduced by. Not because your skills make you a national resource or anything, but because the job is a net negative to society. We'd be better off if you took up mugging.

scythe · on June 14, 2011

>But "finance" means theft these days. It's only wildly profitable because our economic/justice system is fundamentally flawed and nobody is allowed to stop playing.

'tis the voters' fault, though, isn't it? The quants didn't ask for the system to be the way it is.

If anything, they, by exploiting this flaw, act to expose it, making it more visible and more likely to be fixed. Imagine if more grad students did this. You'd drive the stock market to collapse so many times -- at least in theory, 'cuz you're basically draining it like a pool, and it's a finite pool -- the government would be -forced- to give up on its newfound policy of Too Big to Fail.

Conversely, the fact that students continue to enter grad school despite the skyrocketing financial inadvisability therein, this only serves to swell what is apparently a labor excess even further. If universities had to compete for grad students on price, stipends would increase! Those who enter grad school out of some sense of altruism actually do their fellow students a disservice.

...so, having read that, what the fuck am I doing, you ask? Well, I'm just avoiding people I can't stand to be around. I like professors; I hate managers. My perceived-value-of-research is skewed. As an added bonus academics posess a level of freedom on par with the super-rich; if some University wants you to immigrate to a country in order to do research, you're waived right in. A PhD carries the sort of international mobility that's I think is kind of useful having been born in a sinking ship. In America it's called the O-1, but most countries have an analog. Paul Erdos was one of the only people who could cross the Iron Curtain unscathed. My aunt and uncle, who inspired me to go into physics, worked whatever hours they felt like and could wear t-shirts and sandals to work -- they were physicists working for the US Navy.

wnight · on June 15, 2011

>> [broken economy, can't stop playing] > 'tis the voters' fault, though, isn't it? The quants didn't ask for the system to be the way it is.

Not the voters. Voting can't fix anything because politicians can't be held to their campaign promises.

But it is the citizens' fault in that we don't do something about the existing laws that cover this malfeasance that aren't being used to stop it, or more importantly, about how voting doesn't work.

> If anything, they, by exploiting this flaw, act to expose it, making it more visible and more likely to be fixed.

That line of reasoning is only valid if those same quants would accept me emptying out their bank accounts by exploiting some bank vulnerability. (Such as your birthday and mother's maiden name always being used as the master identity check.)

> the government would be -forced- to give up on its newfound policy of Too Big to Fail.

Reality based government. Sigh. That would be nice. I thought they always had that policy where banks were concerned though?

> Imagine if more grad students did this.

If they were trying to bring it down, like exploiting a security flaw to get it fixed, it would only take one.

> academics posess a level of freedom on par with the super-rich; if some University wants you to immigrate to a country in order to do research, you're waived right in.

Good point, freedom and a license for eccentricity in one package. Very helpful in a world quickly stuffing air-travelers into terrorist/not-terrorist boxes based on your sense of humor inside the airport, etc.

> A PhD carries the sort of international mobility that's I think is kind of useful having been born in a sinking ship.

Makes me think of the Titanic, too big to sink!

Got any idea where to go? Start a hacker/scientist enclave in an abandoned mine?