Book review: The man who solved the market by Zuckerman

I point out much better ways to learn about Simons in the links

Personal Note:

As a fellow mathematician and investor, I was deeply saddened to learn of Jim Simons’ passing. He was not only a brilliant mathematician and academic leader who significantly contributed to the development of the Stony Brook Math department, but also the visionary founder of Renaissance Technologies, renowned as a code breaker and philanthropist.

Just days before Simons’ death, I was attending a lecture at Shanghai Jiaotong University given by my former PhD supervisor. During the lecture, he delved into the intricacies of the Bernstein problem and its generalizations to higher co-dimensions, a topic closely connected to Simons’ groundbreaking work.

Review:

Why did I hesitate to read this book for so long? I just read it after I heard of the death of Jim Simons. It seems like a very natural choice for someone like me with a similar background to Simons. Perhaps it was my skepticism about the quality of a biography that Simons himself didn’t endorse. I found myself questioning how much substance could be gleaned from a narrative that the main protagonist did not wish to see written. Unfortunately, my reservations proved to be well-founded. This book provides little insight into the life and brilliance of Jim Simons.

Jim Simons eventually approved the book. However, upon reading it, it seems more likely that his approval stemmed from the realization that the book offered no new revelations beyond what is already available in his Wikipedia entry, rather than the quality of the book itself.

Mathematical Legacy:

Simons’ mathematical prowess, particularly his work on the Bernstein problem, is only briefly touched upon in the book. The Bernstein problem in dimensions smaller or equal to seven, which Simons is famous for solving, marked a significant milestone in his career. In the 1970s, he was on the cusp of winning the prestigious Fields Medal, a feat more challenging than securing a Nobel Prize as the Fields Medal is only awarded every four years to mathematicians aged below 40. However, the 1969 proof by Bombieri, De Giorgi, and Giusti, which addressed the Bernstein conjecture in dimensions eight and above, shifted the spotlight away from Simons. Eventually, Bombieri was awarded the Fields Medal in 1974. This context is scarcely covered in Zuckerman’s narrative, leaving readers yearning for a deeper exploration of Simons’ mathematical legacy.

Another notable achievement of Jim Simons grew out of his collaboration with the renowned mathematician Shiing-Shen Chern, who was the PhD supervisor of Fields Medalist Shing-Tung Yau, who in turn later became my supervisor. However, Simons refrained from explaining the intricacies of his work with Chern to non-experts due to its complexity. Therefore, I won’t attempt to delve into the details of their collaboration here. (I can skip details here, but don’t blame me—I’ve never attempted to write a biography of Simons. Guess I’m skipping details like a pro!)

Renaissance Technologies:

The book’s treatment of Renaissance Technologies, known for its groundbreaking approach to quantitative finance, is equally unsatisfying. Zuckerman’s narrative is more concerned with trivial details—who wears no socks, who smokes, who eats tuna sandwiches out of brown paper bags and office gossip — than with the substantive strategies and innovations that propelled the hedge fund to success. The book glosses over the core algorithms and the sophisticated price arbitrage techniques that Renaissance Technologies employed, focusing instead on peripheral characters and anecdotal minutiae.

Of course in Zuckermans defense Renaissance Technologies’ strict non-disclosure and non-competitive agreements ensured that little of their proprietary knowledge leaked to the public. This secrecy, coupled with Simons’ disdain for publicity, meant that Zuckerman had no chance to reveal anything new.

Other Figures:

The book frequently diverges from Simons to focus on other personalities, such as Robert Mercer, whose political activities, including his support for Donald Trump in 2016, are given undue attention. This detracts from the central narrative and further dilutes the focus on Simons’ contributions and leadership within Renaissance Technologies.

Moreover, there is a noticeable lack of detailed descriptions regarding Simons’ involvement in developing trading algorithms or making strategic decisions at the hedge fund. In fact, upon reading the book, one cannot help but wonder if Jim Simons had any significant role in these aspects at all, as he is scarcely mentioned, aside from references to his smoking habit and occasional appearances in meetings.

This oversight is, of course, again due to the fact that Zuckerman had little to no information available to write about Simons’ involvement in these critical aspects of Renaissance Technologies.

Recommendation:

From start to finish, The Man Who Solved the Market fails to deliver. Save yourself the disappointment and skip this book. Instead, opt for deeper dives into Simons’ mathematical publications or reliable online sources. The book does little justice to the man who revolutionized both mathematics and quantitative finance. But I guess that’s exactly what Jim Simons wanted.

Rather than reading this book, consider listening to the man himself. Here are a few of his talks. They contain more information and insights directly from Simons himself!

Hope he’s not running out of Merits and continues to light up the sky with new theorems!

Appendix:

Two mathematical theorems about the Bernstein Problem:

Theorem (Simons 1968):

Suppose M^(n-1) is a compact minimal hypersurface in S^n such that the cone C(M) is stable (e.g., mass-minimizing). Then M^(n-1) is a totally geodesic hypersphere S^(n-1) in S^n, i.e., C(M) = R^n is a linear subspace.

Furthermore, provided n + 1 ≤ 7.

This assertion is false if n + 1 ≥ 8.

Theorem (Bombieri, De Giorgi, Giusti 1969):

Simons’ cone is mass-minimizing in R^8. Hence, interior regularity fails in all dimensions ≥ 8.

The Bernstein Conjecture is false for all n ≥ 8.