Name: The mathematician who cracked Wall Street
Uploaded: 2015-09-03T15:01:31Z
Duration: 22 min 57 s
Description: Jim Simons was a mathematician and cryptographer who realized: the complex math he used to break codes could help explain patterns in the world of finance. Billions later, he's working to support the next generation of math teachers and scholars. TED's Chris Anderson sits down with Simons to talk about his extraordinary life in numbers.

Jim Simons: The mathematician who cracked Wall Street

The mathematician who cracked Wall Street

Jim Simons was a mathematician and cryptographer who realized: the complex math he used to break codes could help explain patterns in the world of finance. Billions later, he's working to support the next generation of math teachers and scholars. TED's Chris Anderson sits down with Simons to talk about his extraordinary life in numbers.

Mathematical thinking can reveal deep patterns in everything from secret codes to financial markets, sometimes creating revolutionary outcomes. By assembling a team of scientists and gathering vast troves of data, it is possible to find persistent anomalies and outperform expectations, as shown by decades of low-risk, high-return investing. Concepts from pure mathematics, once thought esoteric, now underpin advances in physics and even help explain the origins of life. Supporting math education and fundamental research can multiply these breakthroughs for future generations.