Zbigniew Piekarski on understanding the rules of the domain
"Men have a much better time of it than women. For one thing, they marry later; for another thing, they die earlier."
- H. L. Mencken
One of the most fundamental laws of nature, which applies to all mammals, is the irrefutable fact that there are two sexes and that each gender possesses various characteristics which differentiate one from the other.
Of particular relevance to the world of finance is the tendency of the females of our species to live longer than the males. This evidence is not hard to acquire. Stand by the statue of Copernicus on any Sunday morning and you will see a procession of ladies in advancing years trooping to pay their respects to the Lord with hardly a male in sight.
Financial planning, especially relating to pensions, has had to take this fact into consideration as the promised benefits have to last a bit longer. However, to the bureaucratic Leviathan, natural laws and market forces are irrelevant. Myths have to be created and enforced and all natural differences abolished in the imposition of equality.
Thus the European Commission plans to put an end to "discrimination" in insurance premiums between men and women in order to extend their elimination of sexual discrimination outside the workplace. Gender solidarity is to rule in European Society.
This blatant denial that natural laws and market forces actually apply to our lives and influence our financial well-being, prompts me to mention the reaction that a report from Brussels had on the flower power generation and its spokespersons.
That Poland headed the list of countries least prepared for entry was dismissed as being out-of-date and merely a guideline on what improvements needed to be implemented. Although only six short months remain, discussions will now be held in order to discuss further discussions.
There is a blatant denial that failure to implement certain specific rules and regulations, within the specified period of time, will lead to catastrophic economic consequences for the population of this country and no one else.
I found it very difficult to explain both of the above patterns of behaviour and the euphoria presently associated with the markets throughout Europe and America - until I remembered Mr McArthur Wheeler.
In 1995 Mr Wheeler walked into two Pittsburgh banks and robbed them in broad daylight with no visible means of disguise. He was arrested later that night, less than an hour after videotapes of him taken from surveillance cameras were broadcast on the 11 o'clock news. When police later showed him the surveillance tapes, Mr. Wheeler stared in incredulity. "But I wore the juice," he mumbled. Apparently, Mr. Wheeler was under the impression that rubbing one's face with lemon juice rendered it invisible to videotape cameras.
The explanation for all of the above examples is as follows: In many aspects of life, success and satisfaction depend on knowing which rules to follow and which strategies to pursue within a specified domain. As individuals differ in the knowledge that they have and the strategies that they use, some are sound and meet with favorable results. Others, like the lemon juice, are imperfect at best and dysfunctional at worst.
Unfortunately, strategies that are successful in one domain may lead to disastrous consequences when applied to another domain that is controlled by a different set of rules. The only strategies that have a chance of continuing to work are ones that are based on rules that transcend individual domains.
To give you a specific example: From around 1984 to 2000 it was the domain of the Bull Market and the rules that applied to it. All that you had to do to make money was to invest in a blue chip stock or a mutual fund and watch it grow. Then, in the last days of the mania, any technology stock would do. However, the domain changed in March 2000. Now it has become the preserve of a Bear Market. The rules that apply to a Bear are different from those of the Bull. It has become a traders market and the "buy and hold" philosophy will prove to be disastrous. In a traders' market you take profits as and when they arise and you never hold "for the long term".
Individuals who were raised at the time of the Bull, find it hard to accept that the Bear is now dominant. The rules that they applied in the time of the Bull do not allow the possibility of a market to consistently trade downwards. Their successful decisions were made at a time when the rule was "buy on dips" as the market climbed to new highs.
They are convinced that since the lows of March of this year, a new Bull Market has resumed for - after all - it is in their domain and the rules that they are used to. Therefore the losses from the highs of March 2000 are treated as an aberration and not a sign of what is to follow.
Rules that apply to all domains within this sphere of human activity, and to the progress and regress of civilizations past and present, transcend individual domains and provide a totally different interpretation.
Unfortunately, at certain times in history a certain type of personality assumes prominence. This personality believes that they have been very successful in a specific domain and that there are neither other domains nor other rules in existence in their field of endeavour.
Their very competence in a specific domain robs them of the ability to realise this and results in erroneous conclusions and unfortunate choices once the domain changes. Therefore, we have the bureaucrat who believes that natural laws do not apply; the politician who believes that ignoring rules when it suits them will apply to all political domains; and the individual investor who piles into the market once it has risen sufficiently to provide him with the confidence that it will not decline.
To be informed of which domain is now dominant and which rules apply join us on www.gpmanagement.com.
On the WSE: To date, the representatives of the flower power generation in both the political and financial realms have found that their use of "bird's milk" instead of lemon juice has managed to ward off disaster. But not for long. The forces of men are gathering to retain what they were promised and to bankrupt the country.
- H. L. Mencken
One of the most fundamental laws of nature, which applies to all mammals, is the irrefutable fact that there are two sexes and that each gender possesses various characteristics which differentiate one from the other.
Of particular relevance to the world of finance is the tendency of the females of our species to live longer than the males. This evidence is not hard to acquire. Stand by the statue of Copernicus on any Sunday morning and you will see a procession of ladies in advancing years trooping to pay their respects to the Lord with hardly a male in sight.
Financial planning, especially relating to pensions, has had to take this fact into consideration as the promised benefits have to last a bit longer. However, to the bureaucratic Leviathan, natural laws and market forces are irrelevant. Myths have to be created and enforced and all natural differences abolished in the imposition of equality.
Thus the European Commission plans to put an end to "discrimination" in insurance premiums between men and women in order to extend their elimination of sexual discrimination outside the workplace. Gender solidarity is to rule in European Society.
This blatant denial that natural laws and market forces actually apply to our lives and influence our financial well-being, prompts me to mention the reaction that a report from Brussels had on the flower power generation and its spokespersons.
That Poland headed the list of countries least prepared for entry was dismissed as being out-of-date and merely a guideline on what improvements needed to be implemented. Although only six short months remain, discussions will now be held in order to discuss further discussions.
There is a blatant denial that failure to implement certain specific rules and regulations, within the specified period of time, will lead to catastrophic economic consequences for the population of this country and no one else.
I found it very difficult to explain both of the above patterns of behaviour and the euphoria presently associated with the markets throughout Europe and America - until I remembered Mr McArthur Wheeler.
In 1995 Mr Wheeler walked into two Pittsburgh banks and robbed them in broad daylight with no visible means of disguise. He was arrested later that night, less than an hour after videotapes of him taken from surveillance cameras were broadcast on the 11 o'clock news. When police later showed him the surveillance tapes, Mr. Wheeler stared in incredulity. "But I wore the juice," he mumbled. Apparently, Mr. Wheeler was under the impression that rubbing one's face with lemon juice rendered it invisible to videotape cameras.
The explanation for all of the above examples is as follows: In many aspects of life, success and satisfaction depend on knowing which rules to follow and which strategies to pursue within a specified domain. As individuals differ in the knowledge that they have and the strategies that they use, some are sound and meet with favorable results. Others, like the lemon juice, are imperfect at best and dysfunctional at worst.
Unfortunately, strategies that are successful in one domain may lead to disastrous consequences when applied to another domain that is controlled by a different set of rules. The only strategies that have a chance of continuing to work are ones that are based on rules that transcend individual domains.
To give you a specific example: From around 1984 to 2000 it was the domain of the Bull Market and the rules that applied to it. All that you had to do to make money was to invest in a blue chip stock or a mutual fund and watch it grow. Then, in the last days of the mania, any technology stock would do. However, the domain changed in March 2000. Now it has become the preserve of a Bear Market. The rules that apply to a Bear are different from those of the Bull. It has become a traders market and the "buy and hold" philosophy will prove to be disastrous. In a traders' market you take profits as and when they arise and you never hold "for the long term".
Individuals who were raised at the time of the Bull, find it hard to accept that the Bear is now dominant. The rules that they applied in the time of the Bull do not allow the possibility of a market to consistently trade downwards. Their successful decisions were made at a time when the rule was "buy on dips" as the market climbed to new highs.
They are convinced that since the lows of March of this year, a new Bull Market has resumed for - after all - it is in their domain and the rules that they are used to. Therefore the losses from the highs of March 2000 are treated as an aberration and not a sign of what is to follow.
Rules that apply to all domains within this sphere of human activity, and to the progress and regress of civilizations past and present, transcend individual domains and provide a totally different interpretation.
Unfortunately, at certain times in history a certain type of personality assumes prominence. This personality believes that they have been very successful in a specific domain and that there are neither other domains nor other rules in existence in their field of endeavour.
Their very competence in a specific domain robs them of the ability to realise this and results in erroneous conclusions and unfortunate choices once the domain changes. Therefore, we have the bureaucrat who believes that natural laws do not apply; the politician who believes that ignoring rules when it suits them will apply to all political domains; and the individual investor who piles into the market once it has risen sufficiently to provide him with the confidence that it will not decline.
To be informed of which domain is now dominant and which rules apply join us on www.gpmanagement.com.
On the WSE: To date, the representatives of the flower power generation in both the political and financial realms have found that their use of "bird's milk" instead of lemon juice has managed to ward off disaster. But not for long. The forces of men are gathering to retain what they were promised and to bankrupt the country.
