Memetics
How ideas grow and take a life of their own.
Dated Nov 28, 2020; last modified on Sun, 14 Mar 2021
How ideas grow and take a life of their own.
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| Jan 30, 2021 | » | GME ✋ ... 🚀🚀🚀 ... 💎 ✋
4 min; updated Feb 12, 2023
![]() Folks like Melvin Capital and Citron Research think that GameStop is a dying business. The general public is optimistic though, be it for fundamental reasons (e.g. Ryan Cohen (chewy.com) will help GameStop can re-invent itself in the online space ), or for personal amusement, or FOMO. In particular, /r/wallstreetbets members are buying lots of call options . Or maybe it’s rage against the financial machine. ... |
| Nov 21, 2020 | » | Experiments/Theories in Socioeconomics
2 min; updated Sep 5, 2022
Programmable MoneySouth Korea’s COVID-19 stimulus payments were programmed to expire in Aug 2020, and could only be spent at qualifying shops. Australia’s cashless welfare card [currently in pilot stages] cannot be withdrawn as cash, nor used at alcohol, tobacco and gambling joints. Monzo, a UK-based digital-first mobile baking app, supports IFTTT recipes. This enables budgeting logic, “If I spend at KFC, then move $5 to my penalty pot”. The Self-Esteem Craze in AmericaIn the 80s and 90s, there was research that low self-esteem was related to undesirable results, but there wasn’t any conclusive work that high esteem causes good outcomes. The self-esteem craze was defined by a simple inspiring message, a lot of half-baked research, prevalent confirmation bias, cottage-industry (books, videos, seminars). Self-esteem grew into a panacea for academic performance, crime, teen pregnancy until more rigorous research arrived. Similar overhyped[?] panaceas: power posing, growth mindset, grit. ... |
| Jun 1, 2019 | » | 02. The Madness of the Crowds
3 min; updated Sep 5, 2022
The Tulip Bulb CrazeVirus causes colored stripes in tulip petals. The Dutch valued such bulbs. Prices rose (just when one thought they couldn’t go higher). Let the tulipmania begin. Tulip bulbs options. 20 for a bulb currently worth 100. If the price moved to 200, the option holder exercises his right: buys at 100 and simultaneously sells at 200, making a profit of 80. ... |
| Jun 1, 2019 | » | 02. The Madness of the Crowds
2 min; updated Sep 5, 2022
The Tulip Bulb CrazeVirus causes colored stripes in tulip petals. The Dutch valued such bulbs. Prices rose (just when one thought they couldn’t go higher). Let the tulipmania begin. Note: And that’s where FOMO comes in. You can’t argue with the results. You just want to dip your toes and get out. I watched Bitcoin keep climbing, until I got into the game with $50… Tulip bulbs options. 20 for a bulb currently worth 100. If the price moved to 200, the option holder exercises his right: buys at 100 and simultaneously sells at 200, making a profit of 80. ... |
Note: And that’s where FOMO comes in. You can’t argue with the results. You just want to dip your toes and get out. I watched Bitcoin keep climbing, until I got into the game with $50…