Keeping Up with the Quants

5

Quantitative Analysis and Creativity

Around 275 BC, a young man went to a public bath. When he stepped into a tub of water, the water began to spill over the sides. He suddenly leaped out of the bath and rushed home naked, crying, “Eureka, eureka!” People who saw him thought he was mad. This young man was Archimedes, and eureka in Greek means “I have found it.” We’ll describe shortly what he found and why he was so excited about finding it. Let’s just say now, however, that he used both creativity and quantitative analysis in the solution to his problem.

It’s often felt that creativity is the opposite of quantitative analysis. Creativity is viewed as being exploratory, free thinking, inspiration based, and visionary. Quantitative analysis ...