Someone said on television, during yet another discussion about the financial market crisis, that we only have a financial memory of about 20 to 30 years. This means we are doomed to repeat mistakes, and we repeatedly surprise either cycles of the market. This is a human and so frightening.
The financial markets sector often presents itself as a rational, analytical, strictly numbers- and logic-based system. And yet, it seems so vulnerable to the very human qualities of greed, denial, emotions, fear, optimism, and gossip.
Would it help if we call a spade a spade? Will that change how we think about and work with the financial markets?
