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Pricing’s Many Faces

In: The Future of Pricing

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  • E. Andrew Boyd

Abstract

The world of science is home to equations that are as famous as Harrison Ford is to the world of Hollywood. Many of the equations require advanced courses in mathematics to understand, but others derive fame from their very simplicity. Science is often associated with complexity, but in reality, scientists and mathematicians cherish simplicity. The highest praise one mathematician can offer another is captured in the word elegant. Elegant is used to describe the proof of a very difficult result in a creative and brief manner. Proofs that go on for hundreds of pages, even if wielding powerful mathematical machinery, are not considered elegant and do not receive the same praise as a five page proof of the same result. Of course, results with a proof that’s too brief and that doesn’t rely on some pillar of the mathematical edifice are at risk of being obvious, even if the proof took years to discover. Obvious cuts deeply into the ego, and is only surpassed by “there’s an error in your logic.” Many a mathematician has been cast into a state of despair when a senior colleague has declared a result obvious, and many pitchers of beer have been consumed debating whether or not a particular result is or isn’t in the dreaded category.

Suggested Citation

  • E. Andrew Boyd, 2007. "Pricing’s Many Faces," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Future of Pricing, chapter 0, pages 147-163, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-60690-6_11
    DOI: 10.1057/9780230606906_11
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