5 ms·

What good is our species having the ability of written language, if we never learn from our past mistakes.

stanferder 7y ago
Written language can be used to overturn history as well as reinforce it. In this case, the article mentions "meatier yields", and that two-word combination by itself is something I would bet on in a fight against any article-length analysis of the 2008 crisis.
tenebrisalietum 7y ago
You will always have the haves and have-nots. You will always have tribal borders. The haves will gain and use knowledge and technology to make their lives and those of their tribe easier and it will benefit them more than those of the have-nots. So written language containing the body of science and technical knowledge benefits them always. The effect on the entire species is unimportant to those with comfortable, limited lives. Other non-technical written language to create a world of mystical morality to keep the other side in check also benefits the haves. Until the human species changes into something new where competitive behavior is not a base need/instinct, nothing will ever change. You can't escape this.
- overcast 7y ago
  So basically the evolutionary gift we've received, is being wasted on us.
  - ficklepickle 7y ago
    100%. We have a powerful conscious mind that we use to rationalize our primate biases. It used to bum me out, but I've developed a more zen-like outlook. It just is. Everything just is.
- kazagistar 7y ago
  This is an ideological claim, not a normative one. I will similarly claim with st least as much validity that humans can cooperate more then compete in the right context and dont need to be physically changed to do so.
JackFr 7y ago
Investors wan't leverage. Always. When you plug one leak, they will scramble and innovate until they find another way to get it. Buying on margin, options, CDS, structured products... the list goes on.
- piker 7y ago
  Might be a product of the generous bankruptcy system in the US. I.e., investors are rational in their willingness to take big risks because of the asymmetric payoff associated with highly-leveraged investing. It's a great system, but not without negative unintended consequences such as this kind of moral hazard.
kleer001 7y ago
Once we evolve to consist only written language then we will be perfect. Until then any new tools come with the luggage of all the old tools.
TallGuyShort 7y ago
Many memes also require written language. There are still benefits.
xondono 7y ago
We do learn from past mistakes, paraphrasing Friedman: “We won’t make the same mistake again, but we’ll find another new way to fail”
all_blue_chucks 7y ago
There is nothing wrong with CDOs. The mistake was treating junk loans as investment grade. You can do that regardless of how the loans are securitized.

Written language can be used to overturn history as well as reinforce it. In this case, the article mentions "meatier yields", and that two-word combination by itself is something I would bet on in a fight against any article-length analysis of the 2008 crisis.

tenebrisalietum 7y ago

You will always have the haves and have-nots. You will always have tribal borders. The haves will gain and use knowledge and technology to make their lives and those of their tribe easier and it will benefit them more than those of the have-nots. So written language containing the body of science and technical knowledge benefits them always. The effect on the entire species is unimportant to those with comfortable, limited lives. Other non-technical written language to create a world of mystical morality to keep the other side in check also benefits the haves. Until the human species changes into something new where competitive behavior is not a base need/instinct, nothing will ever change. You can't escape this.

overcast 7y ago
So basically the evolutionary gift we've received, is being wasted on us.
- ficklepickle 7y ago
  100%. We have a powerful conscious mind that we use to rationalize our primate biases. It used to bum me out, but I've developed a more zen-like outlook. It just is. Everything just is.
kazagistar 7y ago
This is an ideological claim, not a normative one. I will similarly claim with st least as much validity that humans can cooperate more then compete in the right context and dont need to be physically changed to do so.

JackFr 7y ago

Investors wan't leverage. Always. When you plug one leak, they will scramble and innovate until they find another way to get it. Buying on margin, options, CDS, structured products... the list goes on.

piker 7y ago
Might be a product of the generous bankruptcy system in the US. I.e., investors are rational in their willingness to take big risks because of the asymmetric payoff associated with highly-leveraged investing. It's a great system, but not without negative unintended consequences such as this kind of moral hazard.

kleer001 7y ago

Once we evolve to consist only written language then we will be perfect. Until then any new tools come with the luggage of all the old tools.

TallGuyShort 7y ago

Many memes also require written language. There are still benefits.

xondono 7y ago

We do learn from past mistakes, paraphrasing Friedman: “We won’t make the same mistake again, but we’ll find another new way to fail”

all_blue_chucks 7y ago

There is nothing wrong with CDOs. The mistake was treating junk loans as investment grade. You can do that regardless of how the loans are securitized.