Sun, Feb 1, 2026
A A A
Welcome Guest
Free Trial RSS pod
Get FREE trial access to our award winning publications
Alternative Market Briefing

Other Voices: Reductionism in investing and art

Friday, May 18, 2018

amb
Alex Gravish
  By Alex Gavrish, Etalon Capital Ltd, author of Story Investing.

About a year ago I read an exciting book by Professor Eric Kandel, a Nobel Prize laureate in medicine and professor at Columbia University. In the book, professor Kandel draws parallels between such seemingly disparate fields of science as brain research and modern art.

Despite different objectives, there is an important conceptual connection between the two. Scientists reduce complex processes and problems to smaller, simpler components. They do it because it makes it much easier to do the research. For example, to understand brain activity.

Modern artists implement the same principles but approach the problem from an opposite direction. They make us start with "simple" and "reduced" elements of visual representation and make us "move" towards more complex ideas. Picasso destroyed the form. Mark Rothko reduced everything to color. Jackson Pollock integrated chance and accident into painting.

Because of these "techniques" and the biological mechanisms underlying our visual perception, abstract modern art enacts a powerful influence on us: we become more creative and our imagination starts to function better.

It is not hard to draw parallels with the investment world.

Quantitative investment managers and factor-based strategies aim t......................

To view our full article Click here

Previous Opalesque Exclusives                                  
Previous Other Voices                                               
Access Alternative Market Briefing

 



  • Top Forwarded
  • Top Tracked
  • Top Searched
  1. Other Voices: Nvidia extraordinary growth and the challenge of sustaining demanding valuations over time[more]

    Antonio Di Giacomo, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com, writes: Nvidia has established itself as one of the most extraordinary growth companies in the global technology sector. Over the past two fiscal years, its revenues have risen from levels close to $60 billion annually to well above $120 billi

  2. Secondaries take center stage: What the 2026 PE landscape means for GPs and investors[more]

    Matthias Knab, Opalesque for New Managers: The 2026 edition of Dechert's Global Private Equity Outlook - "Signs of a Gradual Thaw" - marks a notable shift in industry sentiment. After years of compr

  3. Other Voices: Life settlements hedge funds are gaining acceptance among institutional investors[more]

    By Donald A. Steinbrugge, CFA - Founder and CEO of Agecroft Partners, a global hedge fund consulting and marketing firm. Over the past decade, life settlements hedge funds have steadily gained acceptance among institutional investors. Their appeal lies in the potential to deliver

  4. And, finally: Time to share it with the people[more]

    From Newsoftheweird: Leavenworth, Washington, has become a tourist destination because of the Bavarian theme businesses have adopted there, NPR reported. One shop, the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, houses the world's largest nutcracker collection, thanks to 101-year-old Arlene Wagner. Wagner sta

  5. Opalesque Exclusive: High-profile fraud dispute hits alternative investment firm[more]

    Matthias Knab, Opalesque: Former Tennis Champion Coco Vandeweghe Sues AC Investment Management for $1 Million+ in Missing Funds In a developing legal dispute that underscores the risks athletes and private clients face in trusting financial managers, professional tennis star Co