“Stock market bubbles don't grow out of thin air. They have a solid basis in reality — but reality as distorted by a misconception.”

— George Soros

BuzzFlash interview (2004)
Context: Stock market bubbles don't grow out of thin air. They have a solid basis in reality — but reality as distorted by a misconception. Under normal conditions misconceptions are self-correcting, and the markets tend toward some kind of equilibrium. Occasionally, a misconception is reinforced by a trend prevailing in reality, and that is when a boom-bust process gets under way. Eventually the gap between reality and its false interpretation becomes unsustainable, and the bubble bursts.

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George Soros99

Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, and philanth… 1930

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