Slashdot Mirror


Scientists Develop Financial Turing Test

KentuckyFC writes writes to share a new online test that is being touted as the "financial Turing test." The web-based exercise asks users to distinguish between real and randomly generated financial data. "Various economists argue that the efficiency of a market ought to be clearly evident in the returns it produces. They say that the more efficient it is, the more random its returns will be and a perfect market should be completely random. That would appear to give the lie to the widespread belief that humans are unable to tell the difference between financial market returns and, say, a sequence of coin tosses. However, there is good evidence that financial markets are not random (although they do not appear to be predictable either). Now a group of scientists have developed a financial Turing test to find out whether humans can distinguish real financial data from the same data randomly rearranged. Anybody can take the test and the results indicate that humans are actually rather good at this kind of pattern recognition."

9 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Oh Java! by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is the test where we have to decide whether to install Java?

    Because I pass.

  2. Here Is The Simple Form: by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 2, Funny

    * Do you have any money?
    - If 'No', please leave.
    - If 'Yes', please give me your money.
    * Did you give me all your money?
    - If 'No', you pass. Please leave.
    - If 'Yes', you are a fool. Please Leave.

  3. Re:Not random and not predictable? by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 5, Funny

    Slashdotters!! If you had a goddam girlfriend, you'd know what "not random and not predictable" meant.

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  4. Re:Economists ... by Qzukk · · Score: 2, Funny

    the first thing I think is "this is completely unfalsifiable."

    And now you understand why there's no Nobel prize for economists.

    --
    If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
  5. Re:Not random and not predictable? by daremonai · · Score: 2, Funny

    You wouldn't happen to be a member of the California legislature, would you?

  6. Viagra in Canada by Comboman · · Score: 5, Funny

    apparently viagra is much cheaper in canada than the u.s.

    That's a function of supply and demand. We virile Canadian men don't need Viagra, so that drives down the price.

    --
    Support Right To Repair Legislation.
  7. Re:What do you mean pi? by Mister+Whirly · · Score: 3, Funny

    I believe he may have been referring to the film Pi, and not the number.

    --
    "But this one goes to 11!"
  8. Re:Not random and not predictable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Slashdotters!! If you had a goddam girlfriend, you'd know what "not random and not predictable" meant.

    Wrong. I do have a girlfriend, and she is entirely predictable: I'm wrong & she's right.

  9. Re:What do you mean pi? by BradleyUffner · · Score: 2, Funny

    well holy crap. I had never heard that before. that's kinda awesome.