Bethany McLean on mathematical modeling

Goldman also shook my faith in numbers, and I mean that in a good way. Numbers, especially in a beautifully put together presentation, masquerade as TRUTH. A discounted cash flow analysis seems oh-so-scientific. But many numbers are nothing more than the wobbly assumptions that go into them. There is nothing that will make you understand this better than having a vice president tell you to change the discount rate in that discounted cash flow analysis because he wants to see a different result. “Garbage in, garbage out,” I heard at Goldman. So true.

~ Bethany McLean, "My Goldman Sachs Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (And Why I'm Grateful)," February 19, 2014