The promise of the book is that it explains why so many physicists (and mathematicians) are employed by Wall Street investment firms. It delivers on the promise, but the answer is disappointing — they are good at math, especially statistics. The history about “quants” is described. Covers: Louis Bachelier: A mathematician who applied the concept… Read More: The Physics of Wall Street — James Owen Weatherall »
Graeber is an anthropologist laying out an anthropological history of the economy and money. He outlines several themes though the book, touching on the interactions between credit/debt, slavery, violence, etc.
This book was recommended by Tyler Cowen (Marginal Revolution) as one of the best books of the year. The book is a history of money in China over the past 1100 years. Silver (not gold) was the underlying preference of the rulers and ruled in China. Paper money was used earlier than elsewhere in the… Read More: Empire of Silver — Jin Xu »
A collection of stories and interviews about the making of video games. Primarily based on visits and interviews with the companies and developers of the games. Covers 10 games, including Diablo III, Halo Wars, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Witcher 3. Games made by some of the biggest names in gaming: Blizzard, Bungie, Electronic Arts, Bioware. I’ve… Read More: Blood, Sweat, and Pixels — Jason Schreier »
A book written to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic… Picked it up because is looked interesting, but I was not expecting much. But I found it a very informative and useful read. Starts with an overview of the history of vaccination. For small pox, references “variolation” and the cow pox story that everyone describes.… Read More: How to Make a Vaccine — John Rhodes »
Tim Harford writes about Economics and has been involved with a BBC Radio show “More or Less” that presents/discusses/debunks statistics in the news. I probably picked this book up from a recommendation in Tyler Cowan’s blog. He presents 10 rules to keep in mind when presented with statistics, graphs, and charts in the news: Search… Read More: The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rule to Make Sense of… »
An extensive biography of Euler, mathematician and theoretical physicist.