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> Or has it always been this way, and the only difference is the way we communicate with each other now naturally results in mass failures of common sense? I d
by paulgb 4y ago
> Or has it always been this way, and the only difference is the way we communicate with each other now naturally results in mass failures of common sense?
I don't think we're living in a particularly unique time this way. The book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds was written in 1841 and was already then packed full of stories not dissimilar to the current crypto bubble.
I don't mean to sound defeatist, though. We could do more to financially educate people in general, which would provide a better defense against such manias.
- ATsch 4y ago> The book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds was written in 1841 It feels worth noting that this book, as well as the wider idea of an abstract idea of crowd-induced mania in general it reinforces, is pseudoscientific with little credible evidence to support it. It's origins lie much more in the political motivations and historical context of the authors: It is no coincidence that this book was written by a wealthy scotsman against the backdrop of the idea was first floated by an aristocrat during the upheavals and riots surrounding the introduction of capitalism, and that the idea was initially proposed by an aristocrat during the french revolution. They were both times where it was extraordinarily convenient to be able to dismiss engaging with the things the crowd was being driven by. I'd urge against making the same mistake today. To me, it is impossible to separate the web3 mania from the historical context it happened in: Like 2008, it is a time of job insecurity, financial anxiety and distrust in systems with governments doing little to help. They are prime times for wishful thinking and people who want to take advantage of it.