Memoirs of extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds

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1. GeoAtreidesMay 2026
   For the tulip mania, as well as other manias, I very strongly recommend: "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" by Charles Mackay[1]

   Very informative and a very enjoyable read.

   [1] https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24518

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2. GeoAtreidesFeb 2026
   > it's a form of mania

   Correct. The history is rife with examples of manias taking hold of societies, I recommend "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" by Charles Mackay[1], it's an absolutely fascinating book.

   [1]https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24518

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3. Joel_MckayFeb 2026
   Even today, people still discuss Carl Sagan and his Astronomy 490 course structure:

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pc3IuVNuO0

   The articles posted UFO cult study reference is part of the reading list. =3

   "On Liberty" (John Stuart Mill, 1859)

   https://gutenberg.org/files/34901/34901-h/34901-h.htm

   "Memoirs of extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds" (Charles Mackay, 1852)

   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24518/24518-h/24518-h.htm

   "The Evolution of Cooperation" (Robert Axelrod, )

   https://ee.stanford.edu/~hellman/Breakthrough/book/pdfs/axel...

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4. Joel_MckayDec 2025
   These should be read at least once in your life if interested in building industrial grade electrical, mechanical, and or software.

   1. https://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/

   2. https://standards.nasa.gov/standard/NASA/NASA-STD-87394

   3. https://standards.nasa.gov/NASA-Technical-Standards

   4. https://sma.nasa.gov/sma-disciplines/workmanship

   5. https://www.stroustrup.com/JSF-AV-rules.pdf

   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_10:_Rules_for_Dev...

   7. https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/laboratory-metrology/metrology-...

   8. https://www.mitutoyo.com/training-education/

   9. "Memoirs of extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds" (Charles Mackay, 1852, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24518/24518-h/24518-h.htm )

   The artifacts are usually beautiful from good Workmanship Standards, Design For Manufacturability, and systematic Metrology. Dragging us all into the future one project at a time.

   Note that training an ML model with such data would be pointless, as statistical saliency forms a paradox with consumer product design compromises. Note, there are _always_ tradeoffs in every problem domain.

   'What it actually means to be "AI Generated"' ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERiXDhLHxmo )

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXbzktx1KfU

   Have a nice day, and note >52% of the web is LLM slop now. YMMV =3

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5. Joel_MckaySep 2025
   "Memoirs of extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds" (Charles Mackay, 1852)

   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24518/24518-h/24518-h.htm

   Not a new phenomena, but rather a reminder of what civilizations often offer. =3

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6. washadjeffmadJun 2021
   My first encounter with John Law's story was after reading Charles Mackay's 1852 "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds".

   https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/24518

   It's plainly told and unsurprisingly familiar if you've followed the causes of any of the negligence entertained by the SEC this millennium.

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