Investment Bubbles in History: Interview with Dr. Andrew Odlyzko

Interview with Dr. Andrew Odlyzko (U. of Minnesota) about investment bubbles, the Nigerian prince scam’s long history, and how to know when investors are gullible. 

0:05 Intro

3:05 How a landscape painter arbitraged snooty aristocrats 

6:40 Isaac Newton’s stock losses (the real story)

11:50 the South Sea Bubble

21:28 Investment bubbles in history

25:43 the South sea bubble wasn’t THAT crazy after all

29:45 An investment “of great advantage, but no-one to know what it is”

32:16 could we create a gullibility index?

33:48 the Nigerian prince scam pre-dates the internet

36:50 Why trust is key in bubbles

37:01 2 types of bubbles

40:31 Is failure good for society as a whole?

48:50 Conversations over coffee: explain what’s important

*Dr. Andrew Odlyzko is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Minnesota. 

*Find his most recent writings about Isaac Newton and the South Sea Bubble here: https://physicstoday.scitation.org/journal/pto

*His website is here: http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/

*A list of his writings on financial history are here: http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/bubbles.html