The Map is Not the Territory.

For all the math used in finance, it’s worth stepping back to remember: finance doesn’t predict mechanical systems—it predicts human behavior.

✅ Unlike engineering, where you build machines that obey fixed laws, finance deals with people, psychology, and uncertainty.

✅ In short, there’s STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—and then there are the social sciences.

✅ Finance is a social science, even if many finance professors wish otherwise. I say that as a lifelong finance professional with deep love for the field.