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The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047 by Lionel Shriver

A disturbing and sobering book about a hyperinflation in the USA, and the effects it has on an extended family. I consider this book a necessary read right now, especially now, as some of what this book foretells seems increasingly likely to happen--although hopefully to a much lesser degree.  

A few themes really stood out to me: 
1) On how some people are NGMI and there's nothing you can do to help them, even if you literally tell them exactly what will happen. They will reject it, and worse: they'll reject you for telling them. Hence the awful yet true quote from Thomas Sowell: "People will forgive you for being wrong, but they will never forgive you for being right—especially if events prove you right while proving them wrong."

2) On how people waste enormous amounts of energy arguing about who's right, or trying to "be" right about some unexpected problem, rather than dealing with the actual problem. And then, once something unexpected has happened, people will burn tremendous emotional energy to show how "unsurprised" they were by this clearly, obviously unexpected thing. This is fascinating from an ego standpoint, because if they were really being truthful with themselves, they'd openly admit that what happened actually surprised the absolute shit out of them. And of course in some people, this ego-protection device goes into hyperdrive: their brains resolve experiences like this by claiming that they predicted it all along. Nassim Taleb coined the word "postdicting" to describe this hilariously prevalent phenomenon among business and political pundits whose incomes depend on them appearing both unsurprised and right all the time. 

3) Notable also was the fact that those characters who wasted all their energy trying to appear "right" or "unsurprised" were usually the softest and least adaptable to both the hyperinflationary era and the post-hyperinflation era that followed. Their egos, however, were nicely protected.

Finally, I credit the author for creating a subtle, well-done disturbing ambiance: a blanket of tension and fear that envelops everything, reader included, in the face of all of the economic and social disruption that accompanies a severe inflation. It's a fear not just of economic uncertainty, but also a fear of the truth: reality is changing and the things you thought were true (that your savings would hold value, that the economy would function, that the society built around these things would remain stable) are no longer true, and the ramifications are too awful to think about. Of course, if you fear the ramifications of a truth, you will always be at least one large step away from accepting and dealing with that truth. Thus the author indirectly offers readers yet another truth: do not fear. Do what you can, do the best you can, but do not be fearful. That fear clouds your judgment, slows you down, and it will kill you.

They say if you see a trend one year ahead of everyone else you become rich--but if you see a trend ten years ahead of everybody else you go insane. I wonder about this book and how predictive it is, and I can't tell if getting ready for it will make me insane, rich, both... or neither. 
[Links will take you to my reviews of each of these books]

Note to Self: Buy more Bitcoin.

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