Mark Andressen mentioned off-handedly that the Dutch Tulip Bubble is largely a myth... based on this book. That's a pretty big academic shocker for me (btw, shockerpics.com? Hilarious!).
I realize every generation must go through this process of shitting on the previous one's analyses and inserting their own, but it feels like this time around is different (note, all fallacious arguments begin with that phrase). It just feels like every basic belief or thought is under more scrutiny than ever before. I believe it's almost built into our culture... we're desperate to be surprised, and find out the "real story". Like Twinkies are never baked (they form like jello) or the Hindenberg exploded because of the paint rather than the hydrogen. Of course, it seems people tend to be overzealous in this regard. Because Twinkies ARE baked. And the Hydrogen DID contribute/cause the Hindenberg explosion.
