Here is my take from listening to Simmons and countless others who seem to know what they are doing. Have the ability/infrastructure to efficiently find edges (large or small). Assemble a collection of those edges. Make money.
That's that whole sciencey thing: he recognizes that something works, AND recognizes that he does not know *why* -- and it bothers him. So he (they) test, retest, check the tests, refine the methods, work on it on Sundays and to midnight night-after-night, exploring, pushing, posing why why why. Edison did *not* invent the lightbulb; but he did make it *work*. There is a work ethic in science, and Simons is all about it. Possibly in my "Top 10 ET posts of the year."
the holy grail is being given the task of laundering billions of pentagon money out into "unnamed" pockets all while maintaining a strait face of having done it legitimately via superior brain power.
The reaction at 12:30 Einstein - violin, he - mathematics , Ray Dalio - Art, one famous economist of my country - singing, Eli Broad - modern art lover. As A.Robins said , that 7'th need, desire, that can be fulfilled, only by us and noone else, the need to be - significant.