How Alchemists Invented Modern Finance

[alice wellintown]

I read Ferguson, but his work is a good example of the reductionist
hyperbole scholarship that makes its way on to serious reading lists
and college syllabi.


http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/a9c369c4-4065-11e0-9140-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1oqxT5QYs


On Sun, Mar 11, 2012 at 3:27 PM, Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Mar 11, 2012 at 9:02 AM, alice wellintown
> <alicewellintown at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> How scholars use hyperbole, reductionisms, and revisionisms to get us
>> to read their books. The book may be excellent for all I know, but the
>> stupid claim, that alchemy invented modern fincance, makes me laugh.
>>
>> Modern Finance, as any first year business major at any of our better
>> B-schools knows, is indebted to the extraordianry popular delusions
>> and madness of crowds, and, Charles Mackay spends nearly 200 pages in
>> his extraordinay book, once required reading in finance degree
>> programs, explaining how alchemy influenced the development of modern
>> finance. "Invented" is simply too strong.
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 10, 2012 at 1:44 PM, Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-08/how-alchemists-invented-modern-finance-echoes.html
>
> http://www.niallferguson.com/site/FERG/Templates/General.aspx?pageid=194&cc=GB
>
> http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ascentofmoney/tag/niall-ferguson/