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Jim Simons (full length interview) - Numberphile

Numberphile2

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  • Recommended by 11 people: 11 on Hacker News.
  • A classic. People kept recommending it from 2015 to 2024.
  • Presented by Jim Simons, founder of Renaissance Technologies

Beginner. No background in the topic needed.

1.3M views11 years ago11 recommendations

History and cultureCareers and interviewsInside tech companiesMath for programmersPeople who shaped computing

Jim Simons discusses his journey from mathematics and codebreaking to founding Renaissance Technologies and pioneering algorithmic trading.

Shorter version: youtu.be/gjVDqfUhXOY More about The Simons Foundation: bit.ly/SimonsFoundation James Harris Simons has been described as "the world's smartest billionaire", amassing a fortune through the clever use of mathematics and computers. He is now a renowned philanthropist. NUMBERPHILE Website: numberphile.com/ Numberphile on Facebook: facebook.com/numberphile Numberphile tweets: twitter.com/numberphile Numberphile is supported by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI): bit.ly/MSRINumberphile Videos by Brady Haran Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/numberphile Brady's videos subreddit: reddit.com/r/BradyHaran/ A run-down of Brady's channels: bradyharan.com Sign up for (occasional) emails: eepurl.com/YdjL9

Why it's here

11 people recommend this

What people say. Recommended as a fascinating and humble interview with the legendary mathematician who revolutionized quantitative finance.

dogruckon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Renaissance’s Medallion hiked investment caps 50 percent after Trump’s election”

RenTech is unparalleled and Medallion has proven itself for decades. This interview with Jim Simons is fantastic: link to this video
View on Hacker News

nikofeynon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Renaissance Technologies”

the full length one is very good. it gives an understanding as to why simons has been so successful. link to this video
View on Hacker News

bmitcon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Jim Simons has died”

While I'm not one to fawn after billionaires, I found his life story and personality really fascinating. He really seemed to maintain a humble approach, and in the Numberphile interview, which is excellent, he really emphasized the notion of luck in success. He donated a ton of money in very targeted ways that have been extremely successful. I think because of his humble approach, lack of self-promotion, etc., he's a bit unknown outside certain circles, but his impact in certain areas has been big. While I wish that our country didn't have to rely on billionaires spearheading initiatives, which often goes the wrong way, Simons was absolutely an example of one of the good ones. link to this video
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adenadelon Hacker News • Recommends

On “A rare interview with the mathematician who cracked Wall Street”

If you found this interview interesting, there is a longer interview that goes into most of the same topics as well as several others here link to this video
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andrewtbhamon Hacker News • Recommends

On “How a reclusive computer programmer became a GOP money powerhouse”

The title makes it out like he is a reclusive lone wolf programmer. He is the CEO of renaissance technologies, a hedge fund with 275 employees. I really feel misled and like they trying to portray him as a mysterious, dangerous loner. As a computer programmer, I take offense. Here is an interview with James Simmons, the founder of Renaissance, fascinating guy. link to this video
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xviiaon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Mathematicians Bridge Finite-Infinite Divide”

Ah, now I understand. For others: Simons Foundations --> James Simons, who is a hedge fund mananger worth ~ $14billion. Excellent interview with Numberphile here: link to this video
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mellingon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Day Trading for a Living?”

For anyone interested in a great story about a world class mathematician who built a company that has used algorithms to beat the market for the last few decades, James Simons has an impressive record: link link to this video link One other thing, the Simons Foundation funds Quanta Magazine, whose articles frequently appear on HN: link
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mellingon Hacker News • Recommends

On “How Jim Simons Built the World’s Most Lucrative Black Box”

Article is about this book that will be released on Tuesday. link This Numberphile interview with him is interesting: link to this video
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leto_iion Hacker News • Recommends

On “Medallion Fund “Stretches Explanation to the Limit,” Professor Claims”

…ry year between 2010 and 2018, the fund’s assets under management stayed at about $10 billion throughout that period. This suggests to me that whatever opportunities they're exploiting, they would vanish quickly if they would increase the fund's size (e.g. by compounding returns). It's worth taking a look at the Numberphile interview with Simons ( link to this video ). There he suggests that they're mostly using ML and other relatively simple techniques, with a bit of more advanced math when it comes to predicting how a trade will move the market. This chimes in well with the idea that they have to keep their trades relatively small in order to remain this profitable.…
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ljosifovon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Jim Simons proved the textbooks wrong, almost”

Collected takeaways from “The Man Who Solved the Market” - a (good) book about Jim Simons and RenTec that ring plausible to me at link . A good Simons interview (by Numberphile) is link to this video .
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erk__on Hacker News • Recommends

On “The 2022 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Explanatory Reporting”

Numberphile have done a pretty good interview with him which is worth a watch. There is both a full length 1 hour interview 0 and a cut down interview running 18 minutes 1. 0: link to this video 1: link
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WestCoastJustinon Hacker News • Recommends

On “A chat with Ray Dalio”

More of a Musk fan myself. Since you mentioned him, Jim Simons has a really good interview too and it was pretty cool to hear his story 1. Worth a watch if you haven't seen it and are into RenTec. 1 link to this video
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bmitcon Hacker News • Recommends

On “A Jim Simons Market Mystery – Solved? Not:-)”

…ons, but Simons deftly avoids giving out such an empty quote. link Most interestingly, you can tell Simons' like of science and mathematics and alludes to his interest when he mentions his investment into the origins of life towards the end. There are two interesting talks or interviews I know of with Simons: * Full-length Numberphile interview: link to this video * His lecture on his life given at MIT: link Simons actually attributes a lot of his success to luck.…
View on Hacker News

WestCoastJustinon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Ask HN: I am interested in reading about techniques HFT firms use”

…w it might be put together. That book is good but if you are new to the topic it will be almost unreadable. At least it was for me. I had to read it 3-4 times over the years and still find new things as my knowledge grows. I don't know if rentec is a HFT firm or what strategies they use but this was a really good interview with one of the founders link to this video .…
View on Hacker News

u/JohnOs1in r/compsci • Mentions

On “I'm watching Cosmos on Netflix right now, and am thinking, damn it would be awesome if there was something like this for Comp Sci to share with my non Comp Sci friends”

A special one was James Simons talking about what he's been doing with his life. I didn't know the guy. Today I watched this one with Conway talking about his Game of Life and how it involved John von Neumann and Martin Gardner. To me this is mind blowing stuff.
3View on Reddit

mellingon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Bernoulli: Exposition of a New Theory on the Measurement of Risk (1738) [pdf]”

It's great when you can use math, and remove humans from the process once the algorithms are written, to do something people thought was impossible. Was never trying to imply that's the pinnacle. You've got Gordon Gecko and then you have James Simons. link to this video Maybe the U.S. wouldn't rank so low in math and science if kids saw a few more career possibilities. link
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