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Way Too Much Stress on a common word

"Morph"? Really?



Back in 2005 I wrote a review of a then three-volume set of books on "Speculative Capital" by one Nasser Saber. Read more about that here, if you like.

A very short account is that the review was not a favorable one, but did have as a consequence a memorable exchange in which Saber indicated he would provide a full demolition of my inanity in his fourth volume.

Thus far there has been no fourth volume. I'm a patient guy. In the meantime, I see that Nasser is no longer actively maintaining his blog, apparently because he is engaged in the final stretch of writing for this fourth volume. So perhaps 2012 will be the year it finally appears.

His wife, Sarina Saber, has told his fans on the blog "Dialectics of Finance" that she will keep the flames burning on her own companion blog, "Dialectics of Social Change."

On that companion blog, she has recently posted a bit of dialog that appears to represent a conversation between Nasser and herself.  She considers this dialog evidence that Nasser is "the only man in the world who knows whan really went wrong at JPMorgan Chase."

So ... what went wrong at JPMorgan Chase? Hedging "morphed" into speculation. As it must do because, after all, the world is dialectical.

Thus we are treated to a lot about the word "morph" and how bankers don't usually use the word, and how JPM's CEO, Jamie Dimon, did use the word. Which proves ... something.

Waaaay too much emphasis there on what is actually a quite common word.

I expect to have a brief thought about what really happened on Sunday. In the meantime, here is a much more fruitful line of thought than anything we get from the Saber's: the only mistake the whale made may have been in timing.
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