Yet, true to the trickster nature, Èṣù does deceive, usually disguised as an innocent or incidental character. More importantly, he poses choice which implies fate and impossible duplicity. — Diedre L. Badejo (1988) 1
In the Yoruba universe, Èṣù is an unpredictable deity. His central mission? Cosmic balance. His favourite dwelling place? Crossroads. The crossroads, a metaphor for complex decision-making that eludes instincts and often overwhelms deliberation, unless one is fortified with the wisdom to decipher Èṣù.
Èṣù dwells at data crossroads. Hidden within bugs and misconceptions, his trickery and mischief plagues the living daylight of many quants. This duality of enduring lessons, emerging from pain and chaos, are all too reflective of Èṣù’s nature. Yet, harrowing encounters do not cause quants to avoid or resist his charm. Instead, they swear to dissociate, only to return and give to Èṣù what belongs to Èṣù: devotion. It is a sincere devotion similar to their spiritual counterparts.
…and before you do anything in Yoruba religion, before you worship even any of the deities, you make sure you set aside a morsel for Èṣù. — W.S2
This blog draws parallels between Èṣù, a character in Yoruba religion and mythology, and the vagaries of working with data. The blog is ambitious in its attempt at cautionary posts, warning fledgling quants of potential pitfalls, misconfigurations, bugs, and other complexities that confound results. Whether it fails or succeeds in its ambition, fledgling quants mustn’t fail in their duty to offer devotion; to consistently seek Èṣù’s algorithm wherever it may be hidden. After all, it has never been his nature to pose obvious riddles. 😂️🤣️
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Citation
@online{iyamabo2025,
author = {Iyamabo, Jeremiah},
title = {The {Èṣù} {Algorithm}},
date = {2025-10-05},
url = {https://jiyamabo.nl/posts/welcome/},
langid = {en}
}