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"In 1968, no one on Wall Street used computers for trading. Now, no one trades without them. The Wrong Answer Faster is Michael Goodkin's compelling and previously untold story of how he created the first computerized trading system, before anyone thought of doing so."
—Emanuel Derman, author of Models.Behaving.Badly. and My Life as a Quant
"Michael Goodkin provides us with a lively account of events in his life, including many that involve notable persons in the theory and practice of modern finance. I was particularly fascinated by his account of aspects of his and my own collaboration about which I had never inquired, namely, how he as a young man of modest means conceived the idea of hiring John Shelton, Paul Samuelson, and me as consultants to an enterprise that would manage money using Shelton's arbitrage model; and how he raised investment capital for this enterprise, recruited the targeted individuals, and later signed up clients in part by learning how to hobnob with the rich and famous."
—Harry Markowitz, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences
"In this tautly written mini-bildungsroman, not only does the author come of age, but in a well-questioned sense, so too does Wall Street. As the reader's heart beats faster, his sense that 'I too am racing into my dreams' will rapidly propel him through its pages. It is a wonderful read."
—Mitchell J. Feigenbaum, Toyota Professor, Rockefeller University
"A Horatio Alger story for our times . . .This book is both an exciting story and a morality play."
—Leo Kadanoff, recipient of the National Medal of Science U.S.
"The Wrong Answer Faster shows the irrational underpinnings of the money game. Merging genius with entrepreneurship, Michael Goodkin sparked a Wall Street revolution by proving it isn't what you know but how fast you know it."
—Reese Schonfeld, cofounder of CNN
Chapter 1 High School Hustler 9
Older Doesn’t Mean Smarter, and Bigger Doesn’t Mean Better 10
My First Bank Account 15
Working in the Off-Season 16
The Bill Collector 20
Sundays on Maxwell Street 24
Birth of a Banker 26
Graduation Day 31
Chapter 2 The Late Bloomer 35
Harvard on the Rocks 39
Home for the Holidays 41
The Rat Practical 43
Developing a New Perspective 45
Politics Is Politics 50
Moving to the Downstate Campus 54
Leaving on a Jet Plane 58
Chapter 3 Leading a Double Life 75
In the Mayor’s Office 79
The Best of the Worst 82
Preparing for the Worst 86
Becoming a New Yorker 89
Chapter 4 A Big Idea 91
Still Daydreaming after All These Years 95
The Wrong Answer Faster 97
Mispriced Merchandise 100
Chapter 5 Chasing Venture Capital 109
Shelly Likes the Horse 112
The Problem Is with the Jockey 120
Shelly Takes a Flyer 121
The Guy without the Money 123
Negotiating My Terms 125
Chapter 6 Banking the Venture Capital 127
A Phone with a View 128
Recruiting Shelton 132
Meeting an Investor 141
Quitting Time 143
Hiring Lawyers and Accountants 145
Money by a Nose 147
Miles to Go 153
Chapter 7 Stepping Out in the World 157
Recruiting the Brain Trust 163
I Can’t Even Give It Away 172
Worth More Dead than Alive 174
Chapter 8 Making the Impossible 177
One Door Closes and Another Door Opens 178
Turning Luck into a Craft 182
Changing Jockeys in Midstream 185
Conducting a Symphony Orchestra 186
Person-to-Person Call for Dr. Shelton 187
Turning on the Lights 189
Targeting the Wrong Market 191
Chapter 9 If I Were a Rich Man 195
Rich People Play Backgammon 201
Entering a Parallel Universe 203
The New York Circuit 204
Stretching Rubber Bands 206
The King and I 208
Looking in All the Wrong Places 211
Fishing in Seattle 217
The Best Execution in the Business 220
Chapter 10 Too Good to Be True 223
Snagging an Invitation to London 225
An American Capitalist in Sir Sigmund’s Court 229
The Swiss Connection 233
Closing the Deal 237
Creating a Competitive Bid 244
Graduation Ceremony 248
The Year of Transition 249
Chapter 11 Breaking Away 251
Backgammon and Business 253
Not the Man I Used to Be 259
Chapter 12 Does God Play with Loaded Dice? 269
Back to the Futures 271
Accessing the World of Master Physicists 272
Examining the Dice 277
Chapter 13 Making Physics into a Business 283
Home Alone 289
Seed Money 292
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming 296
A Made Man 300
If You Build It They Will Come 301
Running on Empty 306
Entering the Big Leagues 311
Everything Is Connected 312
Time to Get Out of the Way 315
Epilogue 317
Acknowledgments 319
Index 321
Overview
"In 1968, no one on Wall Street used computers for trading. Now, no one trades without them. The Wrong Answer Faster is Michael Goodkin's compelling and previously untold story of how he created the first computerized trading system, before anyone thought of doing so."
—Emanuel Derman, author of Models.Behaving.Badly. and My Life as a Quant
"Michael Goodkin provides us with a lively account of events in his ...