| For example, many readers live at a latitude where on a typical winter night they would die in a matter of hours without clothing, vehicles, buildings, or other human technology. To call the sub-freezing temperature outside a "life-support system" is perverse. The Great Rift Valley in eastern Africa - where our species evolved - was considerably warmer. But our distant ancestors - at least the ones who didn't die of exposure or heat stroke - lacked a safe water supply, comfortable living quarters, and, of course, even rudimentary medical services. The environment was infested with predators, parasites, and disease organisms. It frequently injured, poisoned, starved, and sickened people. In the natural world, human beings are not particularly strong, well-camouflaged, fast runners, or quick swimmers. That meant we were a great delicacy for sabretooth tigers, Nile crocodiles, and others who shared our life-support system. Most children did not survive infancy. Disease was usually the culprit. And the very idea of retirement was so alien that it wasn't even a fantasy. The vast majority of our ancestors died long before wrinkles began to show. Most were dead before the age of 30, due to what we'd now call "unnatural causes." (Yet it was entirely natural back then, when we lived simply in our earthly paradise.) Some will retort that nature may be tough on human beings, but it is ideal for other living creatures. Really? Consider that most wild creatures live short, anxious, fearful lives trying to survive the elements, avoid predators, and propagate the species. Most are unsuccessful. And the end is often excruciatingly painful. I was reminded of this recently when I watched a red-tailed hawk land on a branch outside my office window with a squirrel in its clutches. I can still picture it stripping the bloody flesh from the body and devouring the scraps. That's our biosphere in action. (The poet Alfred Tennyson didn't call nature "red in tooth and claw" for nothing.) Or consider parasitoid wasps. These insects inject their eggs into caterpillars. When the larvae hatch inside the host, they consume its bodily fluids while avoiding vital organs to keep it alive as long as possible. Then they burst out of the host, killing it in the process. Ah, the exquisite harmony of nature. The natural world is even crueler to animals as the millennia pass. Scientists tell us the average rate of extinction since the beginning of life on Earth has been about 10 species a year, becoming much higher during the brief periods that paleontologists call "mass extinction events." The rate at which species have come into existence has on balance only slightly exceeded the extinction rate. The net effect is that most species that have ever existed on Earth - more than 99% - are now extinct. Genetic evidence suggests that our own species narrowly escaped extinction. Several close to ours - most famously the Neanderthals - left this mortal coil forever. Our exquisitely tuned natural environment wiped them out. You might wonder what all this has to do with investing. The answer is a lot. Too many people are willing to buy into false narratives supported by bad explanations. That has catastrophic consequences in the investment arena, where people plunk good money into bad ideas and overlook many of the best ones. It is important to recognize that human knowledge - abetted by the scientific revolution, the industrial revolution, the rule of law, and capitalism - is responsible for making the planet even marginally habitable for humans. These improvements have massively increased both the length and the quality of our lives. But what about all the problems? Problems - serious problems - have always been with us. And they always will be. In my next column, I'll explain why that's a good thing. And how they often create the very best investment opportunities. Good investing, Alex | 
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar