Math, yes, the stereotypically nerdy, the unjustly named boring, and maybe not so wrongly named difficult.  It is, despite these truths and fictions, a matter of great concern especially for those who wish to further their knowledge of finance and economics. Readings of many graduate level or higher papers in these fields are littered with mathematical terms and without the appropriate level of understanding can be impossible to follow.  More importantly, mathematics and it’s applications can have major consequences for the financial industry and beyond.

In a extremely interesting article posted on wired.com, Felix Salmon discusses how a formula designed by David X. Li brought the financial system to a halt in the current crisis.  It is an important reminder that math can be extremely powerful (profitable) but also dangerous if not correctly understood.  I think that had financial institutions better understood the true risk that they had been taking they would be in a better position today.

Now, if you are like me and are curious to continue to learn mathematics as a way of furthering your understanding of finance, economics, or math itself, I have a couple recommended sites I would like to share with you that have been invaluable to me.  The first is MIT OpenCourseWare, which is not only a superb access point for watching full classroom periods for select MIT math courses but is a great source for numerous other disciplines.  Second, Free Online Books, which appears to be a legit website and has been a great resource for working through whole textbooks at no cost.

Happy Learning!

Image courtesy of SXC.hu, HAAP Media Ltd