/biz/ - Business & Finance

Is there any book I should read to understand stock markets and/or finance generally? This has been one of those mental stumbling blocks of mine for years now. Especially when it's time to go to derivative-land.

I just can't help but get the feeling that all of pricing, finance, is hyperstition, that there's really no point in studying the mechanics of it, because none of it is actually Real. Further, a lot of the financial advice rolling around seems really outdated, applicable to older times. I'd love to be proven wrong.

As I become more of a real adult and a real person, I really should get a coherent understanding of money.

I have 130 IQ per SAT score mean-regressed so recommend accordingly.