[ExI] Efficiency of algorithmic trading

[Eugen Leitl]

On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 05:23:29AM -0400, Rafal Smigrodzki wrote:

> ### Aww, c'mon, you are using this argumentation against
> short-sellers? There is large body of research showing that
> short-selling and speculation reduce price variability, smooth out
> supply shocks and lead to more efficient allocation of resources
> (references available on demand). "Clueless small investors", lol.

I thought it is well known that it's the predictability of
collective actions of small investors that allows big players
to make money off them.
 
> Seriously, railing against short-sellers is for me a bad diagnostic
> factor, somehow didn't expect it from you.

I'm not singling out particular culprits, merely the fraud cluster 
in finance. The potential for damage is immense, and is not well
understood by the general public.

That core functions of finance are vital for advanced societies
to operate is pretty obvious. What we need to do is move these
functions into tamper-proof decentralized protocols and infrastructure,
to protect them from human meddling.