Lecturing Birds on Flying: Can Mathematical Theories Destroy the Financial Markets

"Finally, a book taking a critical look at quantitative finance models, illuminating both their flawed fantasy assumptions as well as the uncritical use of such models on Wall Street, in many cases, leading to billion dollar losses. Pablo Triana knows both the financial industry and the academic community from the inside. A must-read for anyone interested in finance."

—Dr. Espen Gaarder Haug, trader, thinker, and author of Derivatives Models on Models

"A thoroughly readable explanation of the problems that have beset the models and quantitative techniques that have underpinned so much of finance in recent years. If only the bankers had heeded this message a few years before, we might not be in such a big mess today."

—Gillian Tett, Assistant Editor of the Financial Times, overseeing global financial markets coverage, and author of Fool's Gold

"Pablo Triana dismembers quantitative finance, in theory and in practice, with expertise, anger,and an excellent eye for the illuminating anecdote. By the time he has finished marshalling his evidence, his call to replace complex equations with something more like common sense sounds like, well, common sense."

—Edward Hadas, Assistant Editor at Breakingviews.com; and author of Human Goods, Economic Evils: A Moral Approach to the Dismal Science

"Pablo Triana is an entertaining and engaging writer, even on the dry subject of finance theory. His debunking of conventional wisdom is a treat."

—Pauline Skypala, Editor, FTfm, Financial Times

"Triana's book is an unrelenting fusillade of detailed and irrefutable arguments against financial theorems and those who teach them. It should, by rights, spark a revolution in both investment banks and business schools. But, at the very least, it is required reading for anyone who would regulate the finance industry."

—Felix Salmon, Finance Blogger, Reuters

Avainsanat: conflicts between theoretical and real finance, disconnect between risk management theory and practice, failure of financial models, flaws in financial theories, flaws of financial models, financial models, financial practice, financial theories, how theoretical finance fails, market meltdowns, reliability of financial models, the failure of financial models, why theoretical finance fails, credit crisis, Value At Risk, Black-Scholes, Nobel in Economics, Gaussian Copula