Newton’s Financial Misadventures in the South Sea Bubble [pdf]

I read about it first in <i>The Intelligent Investor</i> By Graham, but it&#x27;s nice to get a more in depth description of this anecdote.<p>One of my friends once asked me how the growth in cryptocurrency value i an unsustainable bubble when so many smart and math proficient people believe in it. This is a handy bit of Newton trivia to make the point that the intelligent investor is not necessarily the one with the best math proficiency but the one who understands and abuses market folly. When everyone goes right look if there&#x27;s anything of value people might&#x27;ve missed to the left.

For those who want an accessible introduction to the South Sea Bubble, Extra History has a video series on the causes and aftermath: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=k1kndKWJKB8&amp;list=PLEb6sGT7oD8HXTsBEmm3uxFrnvsmfOfhg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=k1kndKWJKB8&amp;list=PLEb6sGT7oD...</a>

This article kind of changed my life perspective in so many ways. Till now, I always believed that Newton &amp; Einstein were &quot;otherworldly&quot; scientists who never dabbled in earthly mortal ventures like equity , SIP, mutual funds etc. Now I realize they had to worry about their subsistence &amp; daily bread just as I need to.

Suppose he was a master of seeing trends till his last days. All this happened when Newton was almost 80 years old. However, he died 7 years later happily as one of most famous people of all times.

For those short on time, here&#x27;s a TL;DR image: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;AEzxuLy.jpg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;AEzxuLy.jpg</a>