Logistically and mathematically, it’s a number-cruncher’s nightmare. EY is carving itself up because regulators in the United Kingdom and elsewhere want it to, but also because it makes sense.

"Number cruncher calculates whether whales are acting weirdly." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 July 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2023 / 07 / 230706124603.htm>.

That’s the unsettling prospect facing the quantitative investing world now, thanks to the detective work of a then-28-year-old doctoral student named Alex Dickerson. While working on his degree ...

By Carl Bialik March 19, 2008 12:45 pmET Share ...