Back in the Summer of 1999 I was on a train talking to some American tourists when the Dow Jones hit 10,000 and they were really excited. It was my first time to realize how deeply embedded the Dow Jones index is in the USA as a bellweather for prosperity. It is an idol they worship. It is the American equivalent of a moving statue.
In 18th Century Japan it was Munehisa Homma who spotted the irrationality of the behaviour of traders in the rice futures market. He invented the candlestick chart to logically analyze the movements in the market. But he realized that most traders were acting on hunches and instincts, and chasing the market in a herd manner.
A market threshold such as 10,000 or 40,000 index points is pretty meaningless in real terms. But these thresholds are anticipated in awe by traders and investors alike. The political world makes capital on the thresholds. If the Dow hits 40k Joe Biden will bask in reflected glory. He will be seen as the president who made it happen. This will secure his bona fides as a leader who looks after the economy. The Trump supporters will hate it.
The NASDAQ and the FTSE and the S&P 500 are all demigods to be worshipped and prayed to, but the Dow is the granddaddy of them all. Dow Jones is God the Father, Zeus, Jupiter, Odin. Founded in 1885 it is a composite of only 30 large companies and is focused only on the USA. But as a barometer of global economics it remains top of mind. Rational traders will tell you it is out of date and does not represent the globalised finance world. The Faithful are those who don’t read their holy books too critically because religion is an act of faith. A rational trader can make a solid living on the market. A true believer might be a millionaire next year.
How to Cook Rice; by Koon Woon
Measure two handfuls for a prosperous man.
Place in pot and wash by rubbing palms together
as if you can’t quite get yourself to pray, or
by squeezing it in one fist. Wash
several times to get rid of the cloudy water;
when you are too high in Heaven, looking down
at the clouds, you can’t see what’s precious below.
Rinse with cold water and keep enough so that
it will barely cover your hand placed on the rice.
Don’t use hot water, there are metallic diseases
colliding in it. This method of measuring water will work
regardless of the size of the pot; if the pot is large,
use both hands palms down as if to pat your own belly.
Now place on high heat without cover and cook
until the water has been boiled away except in craters
resembling those of the moon, important
in ancient times for growing rice. Now place lid on top
and reduce heat to medium, go read your newspaper
until you get to the comics, then come back and turn it down to low.
The heat has been gradually traveling from the outside
to the inside of the rice, giving it texture;
a similar thing happens with people, I suppose.
Go back to your newspaper, finish the comics, and read
the financial page. Now the rice is done, but before
you eat, consider the peasant who arcs in leech-infested
paddies and who carefully plants the rice seedlings
one by one; on this night, you are eating better than he.
If you still don’t know how to cook rice, buy a Japanese
automatic rice cooker; it makes perfect rice every time!
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Mindship 