Why It's Smart To Be Reckless On Wall Street

Scientific American has expanded into a new market.  This article is written by a PhD in physics. He was one of many mathematically trained scientists who followed the money and developed mathematical models that were useful to Wall Street bankers.  His article explains how the incentive system on Wall Street can encourage some individuals to exploit the system while exposing the banks, and our economy, to high risk. We are lucky that more traders do not exploit an incentive system in which the potential gains from taking risk outweigh the potential losses to the traders.  The system also encourages management to hire employees who are smart enough to exploit the system.