HOME
Eclectic
Those pesky giants
We all know the story of Newton and the giants. Sir Isaac tells it himself in a letter to a rival, Robert Hooke, in 1676:
"What Descartes did was a good step. You have added much several ways, and especially in taking the colours of thin plates into philosophical consideration. If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."
Now, by the Giants he probably meant Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo.
But giants can be unruly at times, you know, and you may as well end up like this:
"If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing on my shoulders."
MIT professor Hal Abelson is often credited with this quip, although he attributes it to his Princeton University roommate, Jeff Goll.
So maybe, just maybe, Sir Isaac got very lucky... Because you really never know how you will end up when messing with giants.
 |
|
Disclaimer: HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN INHERENT LIMITATIONS UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD. SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER OR OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.