Dec

30

Mirages, from Nigel Davies

December 30, 2008 |

A study of the psychology of mirages might be a profitable line of investigation for speculators. The phenomena can be real, but the issue of interpretation can be a question of what we want to see.

From wikipedia:

A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon, in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French mirage, from the Latin mirare, meaning 'to look at, to wonder at'. This is the same root as for mirror and to admire. Like a mirror, a mirage shows images of things which are elsewhere. The principal physical cause of a mirage, however, is refraction rather than reflection. A mirage is a real optical phenomenon that can be captured on camera, since light rays actually are refracted to form the false image at the observer's location. The interpretation of the image, however, is up to the fantasy of the human mind, and is easily mistaken for a small body of water.

Peter Grieve comments:

Long distance precision rifle shooters "read" the mirage ("heat waves" in other words) to get an idea of wind speed and direction. "Reading the mirage" sounds like a great name for a trading protocol– unfortunately I can't think of what it would actually be.


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3 Comments so far

  1. George Parkanyi on December 30, 2008 11:14 pm

    Nigel,

    Is it a bad thing if I keep seeing Kim Basinger everywhere? or a parabolic rise at the end of the chart of the stock I just bought?

    Cheers,
    George

  2. Nigel Davies on December 31, 2008 7:06 am

    George,

    I do think that delusion can have its place, for example the film 'The Matrix' is very good on this theme. But for those of us who take a gleeful delight in pooping the party illusion this isn't an option. Just grim reality.

    Maybe I can do something about this, for example look at pictures of Kim Basinger and eating some Stilton before going to sleep!? What do you think?

    Nigel

  3. George Parkanyi on January 2, 2009 4:50 pm

    Nigel,

    As long as the mirages don’t cause me to be hit by a bus, perhaps I’ll hold off on the Stilton therapy for a while.

    :)

    Cheers,
    George

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