Varieties of volatility

Abstract

This article explores the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of volatility and their implications for cultural analysis in a range of fields. From quantitative finance, it takes the notion of ‘delta-hedging’, the suspension or neutralization of directionality to get access to volatility, and applies this to qualitative areas such as surfing, dance, cinema, and language.

Keywords

• Volatility
• directionality
• delta-hedging
• Black-Scholes
• rhetoric
• metaphor
• metonymy