Chicago Board of Trade corn pit, 1993. Jeremy Kemp, via Wikimedia

This week, after 167 years, the futures trading pitsin Chicago closed down. Computers now handle the work that shouting traders flashing hand signals used to do. I was struck by this partof the story:

What’s also disappearing is a rich culture of brazen bets, flashy trading jackets and kids just out of high school getting a shot at making it big. The pits were a ruthless place, but they were also a proving ground where educatio...