The unpleasant sight of a physical absurdity is both grotesque and interesting. Only the most disciplined individual can resist an extra peek at a three-legged hunch back with face tattoos. The disfigurement has the odd effect of turning the stomach and twisting the mind in unison.
After repeated exposure, however, the shock of an absurdity is reduced to that of vanilla ice cream. Somehow, even the extremely preposterous becomes commonplace after a while. For example, a panhandling Batman doesn’t get a second look in Hollywood. That persona comes a dime a dozen.
Yet just because an absurdity’s been watered down to the seemingly ordinary, doesn’t mean it has become any less ridiculous. Rather, the viewer has become conditioned to the absurdity. The abnormal has been calibrated to a feigning normal.
Extreme market intervention by central planners has been going on for so long that the distorted conditions it produces are considered normal. The Cyclically Adjusted Price Earnings Ratio (CAPE Ratio) of the S&P 500 is currently more than double its historic average. But no one, save a few grumpy old farts, are alarmed by this. Like a freak at a freak show, it all seems perfectly normal. Continue reading
