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Of clouds and clocks : Predictable uncertainty in private markets

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Published Sat, Apr 30, 2022 · 05:50 AM
    • The Newtonian revolution claimed that "all clouds are clocks -- even the most cloudy of clouds", as Karl Popper put it.
    • The Newtonian revolution claimed that "all clouds are clocks -- even the most cloudy of clouds", as Karl Popper put it. Pixabay

    SEBASTIEN CANDERLE

    IN finance, as in all walks of life, people tend to see their environment as predictable. With experience, investment professionals acquire a better understanding of markets, become more confident of their abilities, and conclude that they can interpret the world more precisely.

    The philosopher of science Karl Popper offered his take on the main issue with such determinism during a 1965 lecture titled Of Clouds and Clocks: An Approach to the Problem of Rationality and the Freedom of Man.

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