Patterns Keep Repeating

Since the 1600s, every generation has experienced at least one major bubble. Tulip mania, railroad stocks, roaring twenties speculation, Japanese real estate, dot-com stocks, housing — the pattern never stops. Each time, participants convince themselves that "this time is different." It never is.

Each bubble feels unique to those living through it. New technology or circumstances seem to justify sky-high valuations. But the underlying dynamic — optimism feeding on itself until reality intervenes — is always the same story wearing different costumes across the centuries.