Epsilon Theory: A 2019 Retrospective

Thank you all at ET for one of the most thought-provoking blogs.

You are welcome, William. Thank you for joining us!

ET guys - congratulations on an impressive year. I read everything you put out - and study / re-read most notes as well - but still, seeing this map and the list, made me want to go back and read several again.

You might laugh at this, I was getting into high dungeon over why your “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Loose” note wasn’t on the map or in the list, then - instead of shooting first and aiming second, my usual MO - I looked it up to see that, to my shock, it was a 2018 note.

I can’t believe that note is over a year old as it is very fresh in my mind: for me, it helped define what ET is and what being a pack member means.

Have a great Christmas and New Years - looking forward to seeing what ET and its pack do in 2020.

Best, Mark

ET has been a great addition to my life in 2019. Thanks for all you do to help us navigate the present and future.

Other than Hunt’s problem where he does too much talking and not enough drinking the year was excellent. Well done y’all. I still dream of Wagyu Brisket Chez Rusty.

At the top of my New Year’s resolution list is to drink more and talk less. I can do this!

Thank YOU, Howard. Great to have you in the Pack!

Thanks for spreading the word, Mark! Excited for what WE can accomplish in 2020.

I’ve mentioned this before on Twitter: I started reading this blog because I was looking on the internet for explanations of why there was no inflation after taking a macroeconomics class for my MBA (I know, I know), and you provided the clearest and most cogent explanation. I’m not a financial professional and yet the more technical stuff is still interesting and the posts on news and politics are some of the best analysis I find anywhere. I came for the finance and I stay for the coherent whole. Fantastic work, insight, and writing - thank you for giving me something useful to do while I’m at “work.”

Long time no comment! I have a few things I’ve wanted to say that aren’t related to any specific post, so I figured the 2019 wrap-up is as good a place as any.

I recently saw this thread on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stonekettle/status/1202370124797370368
Wow. It definitely made me think of Epsilon Theory right away. Common Knowledge, but Common Knowledge that you believe even though you know it is not true. It also strongly reminded of the documentary “HyperNormalisation” which is about this exact topic. It’s long, but absolutely stunning and well worth a watch. It’s available in full on YouTube.

This may sound silly, but in the spirit of, “Why am I seeing this now?”, I feel the popular culture obsession with “Baby Yoda” (the character ‘The Child’ in the Disney+ show “The Mandalorian”) is quite odd. I include myself in this! So darn cute it’s painful. Apparently Werner Herzog(!) even fell in love with the character on set (if you believe the press). It’s probably just a harmless bit of entertainment, but I’m surprised by how strongly people are reacting.

One final bit, I agree with or at least can relate to many of the ideas shared here, but there’s one I have an issue with from “Things Fall Apart (Part 3) – Politics”. It is perhaps true that one vote doesn’t make much of (or any) difference, but I can’t in good conscience either not vote or vote for a candidate that I feel is worthy but has no chance of winning. The issue for me is the Supreme Court (and other courts). At least with the Supreme Court those appointments are for life (yes, I know they can be impeached, etc. etc.) but there are too many people I care about who could be disastrously harmed by a Supreme Court decision. Ok, just my complaint for the day.

Keep doing what you’re doing, and hope to make it to a meetup one of these days. Ben and Rusty, come down to NYC, I grew up in CT so I know it’s close! All the best.