June 14, 2019 Friday
Bedtime Story
The Ascent and The Descent
Tonight we shall continue with the short
snippet from the book “The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World”
(2008) whose title in all probability is inspired by the legendary British
documentary television series “The Ascent of Man” (1973 the year of my birth)
that was written and presented by the British-Polish-Jewish mathematician and a
strong chess player Jacob Bronowski.
Equating “The Ascent of Man” with the more
recent book that will be completing its 10th Anniversary this year
would be grossly inequitable, unmerited and perhaps outright disparaging to the
intellectual prowess of a brain like Bronowski.
Yet, inequitable as these two may be,
Ferguson is still worth a read or a watch as both these works have been made
available both in book form as well as documentary series for television and
both the series can be watched for no charges on the YouTube.
Bronowski owes his title in turn to yet
another famous British Naturalist Charles Darwin and his 1871 work “The Descent
of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex” which was a remarkable work for
several reasons into which we need not go tonight.
Each of these three landmark works has no
direct relation to each other and yet each that has followed has given its apt
tribute to its predecessor in both very subtle and obvious manner.
Even if you may not find time to read the
entire book of Ferguson it is worth reading or watching just the first chapter
of the documentary titled “Dreams of Avarice”.
As Ferguson puts it:
“From the fluctuating prices of the homes
we own to the high speed industrialization of China the power of finance is
everywhere we look.
And it affects all of our lives.
But are you on in the secret?
Do you know what causes a bank run or a
monetary meltdown or a stock market crash?
Can you tell a difference between a
subprime loan and a prime loan?
I think these financial technicalities only
really make sense once you know where they came from.
And that is why financial history is more
than merely of academic interest.
Not knowing this stuff can seriously damage
your wealth.”
I too believe (perhaps like most of you)
that it is wise to be schooled in finance, wealth, investments and money
because no matter where you stand in the economic chain - unknowingly and
invariably (just notice the advertisements you are bombarded with perpetually
either on the roads or television or through your web browsers) - you are a
consumer, an investor, a product, a service provider thereby making you both a
producer and end user of capital.
So once trapped inside the economic chain
it is logical that you make an effort not to let yourself be exploited or get
devoured by predators out there by educating yourself on the matters of money
and its origins.
Stay tuned to the voice of an average story storytelling
chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.com
Good night Mon Ami and my fellow cousin ape.
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Another great educator and a teacher that I am aware of is
Professor Subhashish Chattopadhyay in Bangalore, India.
While I narrate stories, Professor Subhashish an electronic engineer
and a former professor at BARC, does and teaches real mathematics and physics.
He started the participation of Indian students at the
International Physics Olympiad.
Do visit him here:
All his books can be downloaded for free through this link:
For edutainment and English education of your children, I
recommend this large collection of Halloween Songs for Kids:
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