In the 1980s there was a very popular cartoon called "The Far Side."  The cartoon would only feature a single frame and the humor could be fairly dark.  One of the cartoons I remember was of a veterinarian student named Doreen studying equine medicine in chapter 9 of her textbook.  She has her book open and on the left-hand side of the page was a list of symptoms a horse

Amazingly - and in spite of his role as one of the chief architects of the financial crisis - Ben Bernanke's reputation soared in the aftermath of the crisis.  He was lionized as a heroic figure that leapt into action when the world hung in the balance.  There are huge flaws in this narrative, not the least of which is it ignores Bernanke's role in bringing the crisis about in the fir

SUMMARY

The timeline is an enormously large and complex document.  Here, the content related to the role derivatives played in the crisis has been distilled and presented in a relatively compact manner.  Full citations, including links to the source documents, are available in the download of the timeline. 

Summary:

Recently, April 30, was Carl Friedrich Gauss' birthday.  (He would have been 241-years old.)  Gauss is probably the greatest mathematician that ever lived.  In my own field of mechanical engineering, Gauss - as an afterthought - developed the mathematical techniques required to break down complex vibration signals into the discrete frequencies that make up the vibration.  Th