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To: Unalakleet who wrote (106646)	1/17/2010 3:35:15 PM
From: arun gera	3 Recommendations Respond to of 116555

>Is Markowitz part of the international conspiracy? Or did he make a mistake in all his brilliance? The latter is infinitely more likely.> But if all his losses were made whole by taxpayer money, would you not wonder if something was not right in the picture? -Arun

To: Unalakleet who wrote (106646)	1/17/2010 3:49:16 PM
From: Webster Groves	3 Recommendations Respond to of 116555

<Modern financial theory only works in models if you assume a few things that are patently not true in the real world.> Modern financial theory works from an investment house viewpoint because the fish take the bait. A good lure is not the one that looks exactly like a fly. A good lure is simply the one that catches fish. wg

To: Unalakleet who wrote (106646)	1/17/2010 4:26:09 PM
From: Hawkmoon	2 Recommendations Respond to of 116555

Smart people in economics is an oxymoron. No.. most are just educated beyond their intelligence. Life is not a mathematical formula, nor are most irrational human emotions and desires. Hawk

To: Unalakleet who wrote (106646)	1/17/2010 10:22:14 PM
From: Joe Btfsplk	3 Recommendations Respond to of 116555

Smart people in economics is an oxymoron Not all thinks I. An again ascendant group suffers what a better called The Fatal Conceit. They delude themselves, believe they can practice latter day witchcraft, work out models, usually involving mathematics, to improve the human condition. They simply assume linear progressions; can not know in advance the little steps, sometimes giant leaps stemming from human ingenuity, that make lives better. They are those from whom the madmen in authority usually want to distill their frenzies. They give cover to authoritarian impulses. To me, they are the wellspring of the left. A separate group observes human progress over decades and generations and centuries and tries to take lessons; these policies yielded better results, those didn’t – here’s why. They tend toward market liberalism and maximum economic liberty, capitalism if you prefer. Their conclusions are presented in narrative free of mathematics and equations. They’re now known and often derided as right wingers. The former’s prescriptions have not measured up to those of the latter. Milton Friedman was one of the bright lights on the “right”. His and Anna Shwartz’s research provided the foundation for Fed action for quite some time. It worked well for a generation. The commerce facilitated helped bring one hell of a lot of folks out of poverty, slowed a propensity toward violence. Now that lies in shambles, if not ruin. Many see conspiracy. I suspect something different, more insidious. I’d guess brilliant minds tutored in our fanciest schools spontaneously evolved the ability to game a deficient monetary system. They extracted rents to the financial sector well out of proportion to their real contributions at the expense of others. The dust won’t settle overnight. Eventually it’ll be back to the drawing boards wrt to the nature of money and credit. Given another few dozen generations maybe we’ll get it right(er).