Mark Cuban: Calvin and his people brought down the stock market

http://blogmaverick.com/2010/05/09/what-business-is-wall-street-in/

I jest a little, but an interesting read nonetheless from a successful entrepreneur (or is it, entlepleneul?). Traders--from day to high frequency--are responsible for bringing the stock market down in less than seconds.

That's partially unfair to say, Mark, Calvin and his friends are good guys who wouldn't do such a thing.

Some quotes from Cuban's blog post:

"To traders, whether day traders or high frequency or somewhere in between, Wall Street has nothing to do with creating capital for businesses, its original goal. Wall Street is a platform. It’s a platform to be exploited by every technological and intellectual means possible."

"The best analogy for traders ? They are hackers. Just as hackers search for and exploit operating system and application shortcomings, traders do the same thing. A hacker wants to jump in front of your shopping cart and grab your credit card and then sell it. A high frequency trader wants to jump in front of your trade and then sell that stock to you. A hacker will tell you that they are serving a purpose by identifying the weak links in your system. A trader will tell you they deserve the pennies they are making on the trade because they provide liquidity to the market."

"Big traders who are always leveraging up and maximizing the number of trades/hacks they make will always put the system at risk."

Editor note to Calvin--This is the perfect opportunity to attack Mark Cuban and let him know that the DC boys don't need a basketball team to play wallstreet ball.

Biolog 2: The Evolution of Dog Domestication

Recently, an episode of Animals Like Us aired on tv the other day. If you're not familiar with the documentary/series, it is a 10 episode program that highlights the separation that cultures or religions have attempted to establish between humans and animals. The documentary uncovers familiar topics seen in human society, but are rather perceived as foreign in the animal kingdom. This ranges from animal politics and language, to animal homosexuality and medicine.

Interestingly, the documentary reveals that perhaps baboons beat us to the domestication of our furry, tail wagging best friends.



Looks cruel, right? The dogs, though suffering from a rocky start, are finally a part of the family and enjoy its pleasures. My infant days hold shades of similarity of when my parents dragged me down flights of stairs by my feet, and I think I turned out alright too.

The video raises questions about dog domestication, most intriguing in my opinion: Did humans evolve alongside animal domestication, beginning with our primate roots? Or maybe, did animal domestication arose separately from humans and primates? While humans may own dogs for different reasons than baboons, the core of the man's best friend partnership is a mutualistic relationship where dogs serve as protectors in exchange for acceptance by the family.

Additionally, the observation of animals aside from humans being able to domesticate canines highlights how complex animal societies are than they first appear to be. Science is continuously surprised by animal behavior and its similarities compared to the human experience,as evidenced by how confused and amazed we are by some of the shit we see in the wild. If we really want to broaden our view and include our microbe friends, then humans are really unoriginal and uninspiring. If the tree of life held a dinner party, we would be this guy:



Animals Like Us is worth the watch. Unfortunately, it's not on netflix streaming, but a quick search online for episodes will provide a bountiful of links. Watch, be enlightened, then sing silent hosannas to the knowledge dropped here.


Biolog is a weekly series that brings to light the controversial, disturbing, fascinating, and thought-provoking topics of molecular and evolutionary biology. Written by biologist Gabe Guzman.