Scientific Consultant Services, Inc.

Books on Mathematics and Statistics, Trading, Medicine, Astronomy, Psychology and Psychometrics


Trading (futures, options, stocks, mechanical systems)

Design, Testing, and Optimization of Trading Systems

This book along with our own work, The Encyclopedia of Trading Strategies, is a must read for anyone serious about developing a profitable trading system. No fluff or wild claims here, just solid information for the serious student of the markets.

The Encyclopedia of Trading Strategies

Our book, The Encyclopedia of Trading Strategies, has become a classic in its field.  It covers all the fundamentals of developing and testing automated trading models.  There is extensive discussion regarding simulation and simulators, statistics, and optimization (including genetic).  Tests on a variety of system types are then presented.  Check it out on Amazon by following the above link.

Options as a Strategic Investment

One of the best books on option basics. It covers the myriad ways in which options may be used to speculate or hedge. In it you will learn about naked and covered positions, spreads, straddles, strangles, butterflies, and all that jazz. Also discussed is the pricing of options with Black-Scholes, the "Greeks" and their uses, the meaning of terms like "delta-neutral", volatility and its importance, and lots more. If you trade options, this is a book that you absolutely must have.

Computerized Trading: Maximizing Day Trading and Overnight Profits

This is a compilation of writings by different authors assembled and edited by Mark Jurik. What is nice about this book is its breadth of coverage. You can find high-quality reports on everything from unique ways to train neural networks for trading to how to evaluate the quality of historical data for backtesting.

Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders (Jack D. Schwager)

This is a book very different from those listed earlier; one that presents the personal or human rather than strategic or technical aspects of trading. The book contains detailed interviews with many of the worlds greatest traders, among them Richard Dennis (of Turtle Traders fame), Ed Seykota, and William O'Neil (the founder of Investor's Business Daily). All serious traders should read this one to round out their education.

Advanced Option Pricing Models: An Empirical Approach to Valuing Options

This is our new book on options. If you liked the Encyclopedia of Trading Strategies you will almost certainly like this one too. It applies the same hard-edged, research-orientated approach used in the Encyclopedia to the problem of evaluating the worth of options. A variety of methods are investigated, from conditional distributions and multivariate polynomial regressions (using Chebychev polynomials) to hybridized neural networks. The studies demonstrate that one can do much better than Black-Scholes when it comes to pricing options, especially under certain market conditions. If you have a mathematical bent, want the same kinds of technology that the market makers and institutional traders have access to, and if you trade stocks or stock options, than this book is for you.
For futher information on this book, including a table of contents, click here.




Mathematics and Statistics

Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing (Press, Teukolsky, Vetterling, & Flannery)

If you are engaged in any pursuit that requires custom-programmed mathematical analysis on a computer--be it the solution of linear equations, the extraction of eigenvectors from matrices, the calculation of spectra using FFTs, MESA, or Lomb Periodograms, or the integration of continuous functions (numerical quadrature)--we heartily recommend this book and the companion software. While the routines are not always state-of-the-art "black boxes", they are logical, readily understood, and easy to use. Fortran versions of the same wide range of routines are available in Numerical Recipes in Fortran for those who programme in that language rather than in C or C++.

Modern Factor Analysis (Harry H. Harmon)

The classic work on factor analysis for the mathematically literate reader. This book covers almost all relevant methods of factor extraction (including principal components and principal axes, minimum residuals or "minres", maximum liklihood, alpha, canonical, and multiple group), many popular methods of factor rotation (e.g., Varimax, Oblimax, and Harris-Kaiser Orthoblique), various procedures for estimating factor scores (factor measurement), as well as the theory and history of the field. The major omissions, in our opinion, are of some of the less-popular oblique rotational methods like Primary Product Functionplane (PPFP) and Oblisim. While the ever-popular Varimax is excellent for orthogonal solutions, most of the popular oblique rotations (e.g., Oblimax and Promax) do not perform all that well. Currently, the best methods for rotation to oblique simple structure are PPFP and Oblisim. Nevertheless, we consider this book to be the bible of the subject. Highly recommended.

Introduction to Linear Regression Analysis, 3rd Edition (Douglas C. Montgomery & Elizabeth A. Peck)

If you want to learn the essentials of linear regression, this book is where you should begin. It covers bivariate and multivariate models, evaluation of model fit, detection of outliers, ridge and principal components techniques, issues of robustness and multicollinearity, and more. This book is also a great place to start if you plan to develop polynomial models or train feed-forward neural networks. Why? Because polynomials and feed-forward neural nets are essentially forms of non-linear multivariate regression! Having a good grounding in basic linear regression will give you a running start in your efforts with non-linear models such as neural and polynomial networks.


Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia for Dummies (Roland Staud, M.D.)

The "Dummy" series are often well written books; this one is no exception. First the myth that fibromyalgia (FM) is not a real and quite painful illness is dismissed. A discussion of the key symptoms and possible causes of the condition follows. This discussion even considers chemical sensivities and gulf war syndrome (GWS). Diseases that are often misidentified as FM (e.g., Lymes, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease), and that must be excluded in a medical workup, are also given attention. Finally, the various treatments that are available, both traditional and alternative, and the issue of finding a sympathetic physician are discussed in the remainder of the book. Overall, Fibromyalgia for Dummies provides a solid introduction to this very mysterious and debilitating disorder.

Fibromyalgia: An Essential Guide for Patients and Their Families (Daniel J. Wallace M.D. & Janice Brock Wallace)

This is another good introductory work on fibromyalgia.


Psychology and Psychometrics (Test Theory)

Psychometric Theory (Jum C. Nunnally)

An oldie but goodie. If you want to learn about psychological testing and measurement, this is one of the classics of the field. Reliability (split-half, test-retest, Kuder-Richardson), validity (both construct and content), item design and sampling, tests (intelligence/cognitive, personality, interest inventories like the Strong Vocational Interest Blank [SVIB], values)--its all here, clearly analyzed. And some of the theory is actually quite relevant to fields other than that of psychology or mental testing: I cite this work in a new book on option pricing thanks to its excellent treatment of measurement reliability in the context of composite tests! Highly recommended.

The Psychology of Personal Constructs, Volume 1: A Theory of Personality (George A. Kelly)

This is a really unique book that should appeal to students of personality who have a mathematical or scientific background and mindset. The psychology of personal constructs might be considered one of the first general cognitive theories of personality and emotion. It was this book that sparked some of the ideas upon which my dissertation was based! If anyone wants to discuss my work in this area, please feel free to call or email me (you can find contact info at the bottom of this page). It is a subject that I am still very interested in.


Astronomy and Astrophotography

The Backyard Astronomer's Guide (Terence Dickinson & Alan Dyer)

This is a wonderful book for the beginner. There are discussions of everything from what to look for in binoculars, how to choose a telescope, the basics of optics, eyepieces, f-ratios and aperature, and the art of astrophotography (both with film and with CCD cameras), to "star parties", the issue of light pollution, and lots more. The book is also filled with amazing photographs of everything from the sun and the planets to far away nebula and galaxies--so-called "deep space objects". We heartily recommend it.

Exploring the Night Sky: The Equinox Astronomy Guide for Beginners (Terence Dickinson)

Another good book for those just becoming fascinated with the night sky.

The Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing (Richard Berry & James Burnell)

If you are interested in the technical aspects of astronomical CCD (charge coupled device) imaging, then this book is for you. It covers everything you need to know to get great astronomical images using a CCD camera. Topics covered include the nature of CCD imaging arrays, noise and its relationship to temperature, the spectral sensitivity of different chips, calibration using dark frames and flat fields, photometry and astrometry with CCD images, image enhancement techniques (including deconvolution and unsharp masking), software algorithms, and even file formats (among them the FITS format used by astronomers worldwide). The book even includes a CD with the AIP4WIN astronomical image processing software together with many image files (including raw images on which you can practice image processing techniques).

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Revised - 2005.02.26 Home Page:  www.scientific-consultants.com
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