- That people* institute preventative measures only after the fact (or that over time, they manage to convince themselves that 'now, it's different' and the dreadful thing will not happen again as, predictably, they dismantle or fail to maintain these measures -- thus ensuring that it will)?
- That far too often, the measures people institute are designed to prevent that which has already happened rather than that which looms ahead (and that the few who see it and say so are typically viewed as nut cases or worse until, posthumously, they -- or someone whose timing is better -- are proclaimed geniuses and heroes)?
These are just two of the quirks of the human psyche that I see expressing themselves in the current economic meltdown.
Others include: mistaking wishful thinking for reality, ignorance of the assumptions and limitations that are built into the mathematical models upon which high stakes financial were based, narcissism, and more.
My aim is neither to be cynical nor to depress you (or myself). There are good lessons here. What are they? As they say in Jamaica, 'soon come!'
* In the interest of transparency, I will candidly admit that I am a person.
