Role of "quants" in the demise of Wall Street

In November, while discussing the factors that let to the financial meltdown on Wall Street, I pointed out the key role played by quantitative analysts (better known as "quants" within the industry). The New York Times today has a great coverage on this topic, They Tried to Outsmart Wall Street. It also includes anecdotal accounts from physicists and other scientists who were the architects of complex derivative securities that enabled excessive risk taking and almost brought down the entire global financial services industry.