Joseph de la Vega wrote the first ever behavioral finance book in 17th century Holland. His book, Confusion de Confusiones, is a conversation between an Investor, Philosopher and Merchant in which the Investor explains how the stock market functions. This excerpt offers just one of the brilliant descriptions of markets:
“This business of mine [investing] is a mysterious affair, and that, even as it was the most fair and noble in all of Europe, so it was also the falsest and most infamous business in the world. The truth of this paradox becomes comprehensible, when one appreciates that this business has necessarily been converted into a game, and merchants [concerned in it] have become speculators…“
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