CEMH Digital Talk: Andrew Odlyzko (Mathematics, University of Minnesota)
Title: Plagues, Financial Panics, and Collective Delusions
Abstract: The South Sea Bubble of 1720 was a gigantic investment mania in Britain. It occurred in a post-truth environment of misinformation and disinformation, and featured a real plague. The central collective delusion that led to its rise and fall swept up people as brilliant as Isaac Newton. It offers instructive lessons for modern times
Bio: Andrew Odlyzko has had a long career in research and research management at Bell Labs, AT&T Labs, and most recently at the University of Minnesota, where he was the first director of the Digital Technology Center, and is now a Professor in the School of Mathematics. His current research is concentrated on financial history and technology bubbles.
Part of the Panic and Plague in 1720 and 2020 Lecture Series