Humans talk a great deal about wanting to know the truth.
Society, and the human relationships it is built on rely on trust, and that trust is based on general assumption of honesty. However, while people expect honesty from one and other, the standards they set for themselves seem somewhat lower.
One of my passions is financial markets (the other is motorcycles). Financial markets fascinate me as they often expose the blatant lies we tell ourselves and each other. The ability of humans to stare directly at the events of the past and deny that they could happen again amazes and intrigues me. It is almost never different this time, but we often do a very good job of convincing ourselves otherwise.
Is it that we forget the events of the past? It seems unlikely. If the efficient market hypothesis has even one shred of credibility left, then the market is discounting all available information all of the time. The events of yesterday are definitely available.
It seems more that we gain something (or are attempting to gain something) out of convincing ourselves that black is in fact grey, or that the sun will rise in the west tomorrow... just this once.
This blog is my attempt to pose, and sometimes answer what are often the 'wrong' questions. Comments relating to motorcycles can be safely ignored at the readers discretion.
