Jim Simons proved the textbooks wrong, almost
Nobody knows how Rentech makes money. The most likely explanation for the success of Medallion is that Rentech assigns ex post the best strategies to Medallion, which is run for the benefit of insiders. For instance the fund Bluecrest was charged and fined for doing exactly that. We also know, because it appeared in a Senate report, that Rentech is a massive tax fraud and owes over $5 billion in unpaid taxes. Is it so unreasonable that a massive tax cheat would also cheat his investors? The press is far too credulous towards Rentech. For instance Zuckerman in his book devotes just one paragraph to a discussion of the tax fraud and the Senate report. Noah Smith himself worked at SUNY Stony Brook, which is heavily funded by Simons.