# Regulating the above average: Luck or skill?

- Institution: Gresham College
- Speaker: Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli
- Year: 2008
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Business and management, Philosophy
- Source: [Gresham College](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/regulating-above-average-luck-or-skill)
- Licence: [Educational use (Gresham College's terms)](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/terms-and-conditions)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

Considered thinkers from Mandelbrot ('fractals') or Keillor ('Lake Wobegon Days') to Taleb ('Black Swans') point out the absurdity of more than half of us being 'above average'. Yet financial service salesfolk presume that the financial world is full of geniuses who perform, on average, 'above average'; at the same time accountants assume everything can be marked to fair value. We shall seek out related fallacies and pose the question, 'Do these people lack intelligence or integrity?' Taking contrarian paths we uncover some disturbing points about financial regulation.

## Lectures

1. [Regulating the above average: Luck or skill?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/regulating-above-average-luck-or-skill/c4086cb4ad90) (YouTube)