James Simons — The Life of a Quant
In October 1993, the House of Representatives rejected the funding of The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC). Overnight many scientists and physicists that worked there went jobless. These scientists went then to work for major investment banks and other investment institutions. This influx of physicists in the finance industry created all major and modern career paths like the quantitative analyst (quant) and financial engineer.
In this article, our focus will be James Simons, probably the most famous quant of them all.
The Life of James Simmons
James Harris Simons was born in 1938 in Newton, Massachusetts, in the US. His father was a shoe factory manager by profession.
“I learned from my father to my horror, that a car could run out of gasoline. And I said, “Whoa. It shouldn’t run out. You could use half of what you have and then you could use half of that and then you could use half of that and you’ll never run out. I discovered Zeno’s paradox at about four years old.” — James Simons
