Paradigms. Those mythical shifting of memes into a new social fabric of consciousness. [I snark]
How does one tell Fad from BS. Which one will really be a paradigm shift or was a paradigm shift or a BS Fad?. Fads are easy enough to find in history, think fashion or popular music or TV. BS might be the idea that house prices always go up. We know now that one is BS. I grew up thinking that. A Mule and 40 acres, it’s yours for working hard. You can still find late night infomercials about how to profit from the “new real estate opportunities”
That’s not a paradigm that will shift in my or your life time. Owning and controlling a plot of land and a structure to house your family in seems to survive in spite of all the forms of government that have arisen to convince us that the Borg of the decade will take care of us. Deep down, we know the Borg won’t take care of us but we are still willing to carve out our special place in the hive.
Paradigm shifts occur when something new arrives. It might be new technology like PC’s or the internet or the printing press or steam engines or the emergence of Democracy that mostly works. Things just changed and they won’t go back to the good old days. Those are societal paradigm shifts. Doesn’t matter whether you like it or not. Things changed and it’s not going to go backwards. Hemlines can go up and down, celebrities go up and down and for certain politicians and their supplicants will go up and down. Those are Fads.
Investors need to understand the difference between Fads, BS and paradigm shifts. You’ll make more money on being right on the paradigm shift (e.g. Rockefeller and Oil). You’ll also lose the ranch when you bet against the paradigm shift by holding on to your buggy whips shares). Unless that was fad or bs.
Back when $AAPL was struggling with getting 10.2 almost working and iTunes was thought to be a wild gamble the record labels would never allow. I saw that there was something visionary. You would never have heard of it. Cyberdog. Compared to OLE, it was late to the document embedding party and it was serious buggy.
But, but, but Cyberdog knew about the internet and urls and uri. It did things back then that you take for granted now at any web site and they didn’t break the rules of the Internet to do it. That was back when MSFT was trying to squeeze the Netscape breathing tube. How did that work out Bill? Steve? Now $APPL is the largest company on the planet by market cap) and its not even bubbly over valued.
Fad or Paradigm shift?
There are other paradigm shifts occurring: Shale gas and oil: Fad, BS or shift? Collapse of the EU because of their socialist lite (or not so light policies) politboro? Fad, BS or investable paradigm shift? You decide.
[First time I've looked at the Apple Store for accessories]
Giggle, snort, Giggle. Over priced cables? That’s my Apple! Docking stations with Bluetooth keyboards and HDMI display ports. Tell me again why you need a Windows desktop PC .
