In our prior blogs (for example here, here, here, here and here) we highlight the presence of the ‘artist / architect’ archetype in great investors, even if they choose a highly technical medium, like quantitative finance.
Architect’s attitudes stand out on many fronts required for investing success - an appreciation of truth, beauty and harmony, self-awareness and development of a style and voice, creative novelty and uniqueness, setting up challenging questions, urgency to innovate, courage to break boundaries and collaborate on solving new problems, inspirational persistence, and acceptance of frequent failure as a price to pay for innovation.
We can find all of the above traits in Greg Zuckerman’s story of Jim Simons in his latest blockbuster book “The Man Who Solved the Market”. Here is what Greg has to say about it.
MOTIVATED BY BEAUTY
Question:
Greg, what importance do you attribute to the “appreciation of beauty” factor in Jim's success?
Greg:
It's a good question. I haven't been asked that before, but it does and you're right, it keeps coming up in my book. Jim talks about it a lot. Others talk about it. The whole “beauty is truth - truth is beauty”, philosophy.
It means different things to different people. And that's a lot of what I do, including with this book. It is true that the winners that I write about, including Jim Simons, have an ethos - they talk about beauty. And Simons, when I talked to him, emphasized “seek beauty”.
I guess, to me what that means is that there's some order and structure and it could be in a market, it could be elsewhere, things flow together in certain ways in science and there's an appreciation of that flow, but also things running well.
It could be, like you said, a certain aesthetic when it comes to art. It doesn't mean that you have to appreciate art to be a good investor, but there's a certain appreciation for things running well and maybe being a perfectionist. Maybe that's how I take it. But I think the reader can interpret in their own way to some extent. But you know, that whole ethos “beauty is truth - truth is beauty” - I find that interesting.
The Search for HarmonY
Breaking code can be a form of harmony.
Mathematical proofs can be a form of harmony.
Collaboration between creative people can be a form of harmony.
Breaking rules and discovering something new can be a form of harmony.
66% per year return and $23bn net worth can a form of harmony.
Solving the origin of life and the nature of time can be a form of harmony.
Tenacity, failure and eventual breakthroughs can be a form of harmony.
Quotes
““Be Guided by Beauty” ”
““Simons realized he had a unique approach, mulling problems until he arrived at original solutions. He was a ponderer with imagination and “good taste,” or the instinct to attack the kinds of problems that might lead to true breakthroughs.””
““I did know how to hire scientists because I have some taste in that department” ”
““It’s always been aesthetically pleasing to me to think time has gone on forever””