Ignorance is vital to keep the economy going

Sir, in your editorial “Back to work for the world’s investors” (September 9) you wisely remind us that “new paradigms often turn out to be new ways of losing money” but when you then, after only one paragraph, mention favorable possibilities in the trading of options on market implied volatility, this also reminds us of that old paradigm that says that investors go for what they least understand, since this is what allows them to harbor their largest illusions.

As someone who has extolled the virtues (and bliss) of ignorance since it helps to drive the search for greener valleys that is such an essential component of economic growth, I have been somewhat leery about the power of the web to spread too much knowledge. Luckily the duration of the information imprints are also shortening and so therefore we see that Argentina’s public debt is already back on the investor’s menu.

Finally let me congratulate you on your valiant effort to raise some sympathy for the hardships of investors and fund managers, even though it might not suffice to console those who only get their income through a salary exposed to the jaws of the global crusher.