European Tribune - Comments - Emerging common wisdom: Villepin reform flawed + my counter proposal

The whole "French growth is stagnant" meme is applicable only to the period 2001-2003, coincidentally the period when the UK got its largest oil windfall - AND a huge housng bubble.

Let's see what happens now that North Sea production is collapsing, and that interest rates have gone up.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 07:48:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Now that I know you all French élite bloggers come from a math-heavy prep background, these exchanges acquire a whole other meaning. </snark>

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 07:50:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I dunnot come from a heavy math environment !! And there is nothing I hate more than graph proliferation. Two of them are fine, but 10 is definitely too much ;)
And I owe you a croissant aux amandes :)

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 07:53:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

And I owe you a croissant aux amandes :)

And glad we are that you do!

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 07:55:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I know, I was going to claim my prize on the Grandes Écoles thread, but refrained... I now understand I missed the bit where it was not so much casually dropped as implied that prépa HEC was not math heavy...

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 07:57:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

well, it is definitely math heavy, but you can still make it into one of the top three Business Grandes Ecoles with a 2/20 score in maths (writing and oral exam)...
Hush, don't tell my boss, I am in the finance business. But as I spent only 4 months (January to end April) in prépa, I had to make choices, so I never opened a maths book. It was heart-breaking by the way. ;)

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:03:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: a discordant note (4.00 / 3)

Sorry I'm only passing through (came to help my mom do some gardening today), so no time for me to structure my comments, just raw info for whoever wants: in HEC we have 13 hours a week (out of 40) of math lessons, and maths represent an average 33% of coefficients at exams => thus maths are still pretty heavy in HEC!

by Alex in Toulouse on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:03:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]

ps: In HEC prepa we do 1/3rd "analysis" (double integrals and that kind of stuff), 1/3rd "algebra" (topology, rings and all that kind of stuff), and 1/3rd "probability & statistics" ... which means that there is a good probability, statistically speaking, that we analyse graphs using algebra and get nowhere.

by Alex in Toulouse on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:01:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

you mean you did :)
I do no understand a single word of what you wrote !

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:04:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

The divide, the divide...

Nothing to understand, Agnes, he's just name-dropping. </snark>

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:05:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

You mean equation-dropping ...;)

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:11:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Please stop bragging, it's unseemly. Not everybody is as talented as you.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:07:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Yeah, some of us actually have to do the high math to understand things.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:09:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ah but I think I get it, you must have done the "HEC économique" and not the "HEC scientifique", no, Agnès? (there are 2 types)

The "scientifique" one, contrary to what its braggard name suggests, does not involve any red dials or machines that go blip blip blip, but it's more math-oriented.

by Alex in Toulouse on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:26:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: a discordant note (4.00 / 3)

Ok my mom's back from shopping, got to get back at the garden. See you all later.

And viva la desconstruccion del NYT!

by Alex in Toulouse on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:28:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Nope, I did the HEC voie générale, as opposed to économique, so the coeffs were as you say.
Now I'll stop bragging about my swaying scores in the other subjects ; )

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:43:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Don't make me pull a Bienaymé-Tchebychev inequality on you :))

by Alex in Toulouse on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:08:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Oh-la-la, the Chebycheff inequalities...

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:08:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

It was always my favourite name in HEC maths (because I could never forget it).

by Alex in Toulouse on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:10:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]

And what about the Chebycheff polynomials? Tasty, too!

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:11:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Bah, I was always only interested in inequalities.

by Alex in Toulouse on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:13:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Heathen.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:15:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

The only law I am familiar with is Black Scholles. Not be mistaken for Black&Decker...

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:15:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

That's not a law, it's a model.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:15:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

That's true, but you know in equity trading you learn not to bother with accuracy in words, only with accurate 7 digit amounts.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 08:17:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Let me pick up the change when you buy Migeru's croissant aux amandes.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 09:16:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

You want the cost of that rounded to the nearest million?

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 09:28:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Where do you expect to find such an expensive croissant aux amandes ?? :)

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 09:48:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

At the Metatone bakery of course, proubdly ripping off bankers since, oh, 10 mins or so ago... ;)

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Mon Mar 27th, 2006 at 03:46:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]