Live data from Hacker News

Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains

wsj.com

91–100 of 106 posts

Re: Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains

#91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle and "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe (applicable to men mostly) contain lifetime lessons on mind and body management. "Principles" is very useful for mental models and just critical thinking (or, rather, structured self-doubting).

just went ahead and 1-click ordered Eckhart's book. I recall listening to the audiobook I torrented 4 years ago but never got to finish it. I'm reading Principles.com and I'm blown away by how similar it is to my own model of the world but without the same confidence and experiences to back it up the way Ray did. I think perhaps I was being too judgemental about Ray by reading the WSJ article. But to be fair, I'm con…

[deleted]

Re: Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains

#92
post #88
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In fact, Dalio himself just a couple years ago contacted Bridgewater's clients to tell them the firm fucked up, had miscalculated things and was over-exposed to duration risk (basically meaning they owned too many bonds, as you say). The studying of this risk from bonds and how to "mitigate" it is ongoing at Bridgewater. Kinda hard to recommend a portfolio from a guy who admits it is broken and is still trying to fix…

Kinda hard to recommend a portfolio from a guy who admits it is broken and is still trying to fix it. Honestly, I think that this is probably the only thing that makes me think there could be something worthwhile. All portfolios are broken in some way. It's refreshing to hear a proponent of one admit it and try to fix it. (Also, I highly recommend Lewis' "The Undoing Project" if you think this is a problem)

[deleted]

Re: Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

just went ahead and 1-click ordered Eckhart's book. I recall listening to the audiobook I torrented 4 years ago but never got to finish it. I'm reading Principles.com and I'm blown away by how similar it is to my own model of the world but without the same confidence and experiences to back it up the way Ray did. I think perhaps I was being too judgemental about Ray by reading the WSJ article. But to be fair, I'm con…

Tolle is full of hand wavy pop psychology junk. At the end of the day Tolle is full of mashed up philosphies he mixed and matched until it tasted really sweet. What are you left with? A loosely defined mess that reads like so many other self help books. I am critical here but with good reason, this is like going shopping at the philosophy store and just buying candy. It comes off as blatantly anti reason in places to…

I can't imagine a philosophy that isn't "a loosely defined mess" and still attempts to take on the true ambiguity and confusion of life.

Re: Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains

#95
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a case study in megalomania perhaps ...

oh no, I'm sure this particular Great Thesis of Logic and Ethics and Objectivity will enlighten us all. What business organizations have been missing is 40 pages of this schlub aimlessly restating the Golden Rule. > You must be calm and logical. When diagnosing problems, as when identifying problems, reacting emotionally, though sometimes difficult to avoid, can undermine your effectiveness as a decision-maker. By co…

It also sounds like a journal entry from a concentration camp administrator.

Re: Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains

#96
Another megalomaniac looking for religion where it can not be found: radical transparency, humans and economies as machines, personality tests to determine stratums, daily ratings called "dots" (which incidentally is what Palantir calls their ratings as well). Then again maybe the article makes the place sound more like a cult than it actually is in reality.

Re: Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains

#97
post #80

> Mr. Dalio has the highest stratum score at Bridgewater, and the firm has told employees he has one of the highest in the world. So this billionaire is designing a human-ranking system based on some criteria on which he scores number one in the world? In examining a system for bias I certainly hope they factor in the fact that the guy who paid billions for scientists to research factors under the "total human awesom…

The strata in the article are based on the work of psychologist Elliot Jacques who as far as I can tell created this independently of Dalio and Bridgewater.

Strata are related to a person's ability to handle complexity, and Jacques argued that this is related to the time horizon a person can handle. For example, the role of a shop floor employee selling widgets does not need to consider what happens more than 1-3 months in the future, however the store manager has to think about a year into the future, the owner of the chain has to consider what happens 2-3 years down the line and so on.

He devised an interview protocol to determine at which level a person is capable of thinking at to be use to match employee's with roles for which they are suitable. Being in the highest stratum means having a time horizon of 20-30 of which Jacques believed only a handful of people are capable of in each generation.

Re: Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains

#98
post #97
post #80

> Mr. Dalio has the highest stratum score at Bridgewater, and the firm has told employees he has one of the highest in the world. So this billionaire is designing a human-ranking system based on some criteria on which he scores number one in the world? In examining a system for bias I certainly hope they factor in the fact that the guy who paid billions for scientists to research factors under the "total human awesom…

The strata in the article are based on the work of psychologist Elliot Jacques who as far as I can tell created this independently of Dalio and Bridgewater. Strata are related to a person's ability to handle complexity, and Jacques argued that this is related to the time horizon a person can handle. For example, the role of a shop floor employee selling widgets does not need to consider what happens more than 1-3 mon…

Dr. Jaques divided people into eight strata based on their innate capabilities and limits.

Most of us if we're honest with ourselves are on the level of Strata 1–4. (Even to presume we're Stratum 4 is being generous.)

Strata 5–8 are the rarefied elites. They're typically CEOs of large companies and business leaders.

Stratum 9 and higher—like Mr. Dalio—are the rare geniuses who are capable of thinking into the far future (100+ years) and working on problems of extraordinary complexity.

Re: Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains

#99
post #98
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The strata in the article are based on the work of psychologist Elliot Jacques who as far as I can tell created this independently of Dalio and Bridgewater. Strata are related to a person's ability to handle complexity, and Jacques argued that this is related to the time horizon a person can handle. For example, the role of a shop floor employee selling widgets does not need to consider what happens more than 1-3 mon…

Dr. Jaques divided people into eight strata based on their innate capabilities and limits. Most of us if we're honest with ourselves are on the level of Strata 1–4. (Even to presume we're Stratum 4 is being generous.) Strata 5–8 are the rarefied elites. They're typically CEOs of large companies and business leaders. Stratum 9 and higher—like Mr. Dalio—are the rare geniuses who are capable of thinking into the far fut…

No one can think 100 years into the future, that's just ridiculous. Chaotic systems -- all real-world human systems on some time scale -- are unpredictable no matter how awesome you are.

Re: Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tolle is full of hand wavy pop psychology junk. At the end of the day Tolle is full of mashed up philosphies he mixed and matched until it tasted really sweet. What are you left with? A loosely defined mess that reads like so many other self help books. I am critical here but with good reason, this is like going shopping at the philosophy store and just buying candy. It comes off as blatantly anti reason in places to…

I can't imagine a philosophy that isn't "a loosely defined mess" and still attempts to take on the true ambiguity and confusion of life.

Formal philosophy is pretty rigorous. Life philosophy not so much. It is a tool to understand the human context, that is why I listed Minsky. Life is not ambiguous, it simply is. The harder you try to interpret it to fit a narrative rattling around in your brain the more confused it may seem IMO. Understanding what can be reasoned about (Kant), and what "feelings" are is important to attempt. We are stuck with a certain mode of existence via evolution. I dunno, I think giving into this surface level crusing of this deep currents never lets you even glimpse a deeper intuition about being human and what we can know.
Post reply on HN