English journalist in the US covering the civil war, Scottish poet, songwriter and novelist; Mackay used Gracian’s insight that “all fools are fully convinced” as a foundation for much of his writings. He described the Middle Ages mania called the Crusades, the 17th century Dutch tulip phenomenon as one of many economic/financial bubble manias, 16th- and 17th-century witch trials when thousands of people were executed as witches, and other national and philosophical delusions. A strong proponent and eloquent “apostle of doubt,” he wasn’t taken seriously during his lifetime but is still a big influence today referenced by stock traders, Forbes magazine, BusinessWeek, Neil Gaiman, Financial writer Michael Lewis, and many others.
Lineages
Apostles of Doubt Poets
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
“Men, it has been well said, think in herds but it will be seen that they go mad in herds. They only recover their senses slowly, one by one.”
from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Chapters:
26. The Still Rule the Restless
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“An arrow may fly through the air and leave no trace; but an ill thought leaves a trail like a serpent.”
from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Chapters:
43. No Effort, No Trace
63. Easy as Hard
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“Credulity is always greatest in times of calamity. Prophecies of all sorts are rife on such occasions, and are readily believed.”
from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Chapters:
38. Fruit Over Flowers
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“Nobody blamed the credulity and avarice of the people, – the degrading lust of gain, which had swallowed up every nobler quality in the national character… These things were never mentioned.”
from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Chapters:
18. The Sick Society
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“Who shall be fairest? - who shall be rarest? Who shall be first in the songs that we sing? She who is kindest when fortune is blindest, Bearing through winter the blooms of the spring.”
Chapters:
63. Easy as Hard
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“Nations, like individuals, cannot become desperate gamblers with impunity. Punishment is sure to overtake them sooner or later.”
from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
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“Time sanctifies everything it doesn’t destroy. The mere fact of anything being spared by this great foe makes it a favorite with us, who are sure to fall his victims.”
from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
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“Money has often been a cause of the delusion of multitudes. Sober nations have all at once become desperate gamblers, and risked almost their existence upon the turn of a piece of paper.”
from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
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