Stark Market

This is my home office. That’s my stunt double.

If you came here expecting to learn about Winterfell please hold still while my dire wolves rip out your throat. For the rest of us, it’s time to explore the heady world of the stock market and high finance. BYOC. (Bring Your Own Cocaine.)

After yesterday’s false cheer I feel so dirty. It’s time to come clean. I’m gonna tell you how the shit works. All of it.

Disclaimer: I’m not big on introspection. I have never taken stock. I’m just a humble social scientist. These are my findings.

Gaming Theory: The idea that any human system will be manipulated (gamed) to the optimal point of inequity. A pet theory of mine. @betzsteve

— Tom B. Taker (@shoutabyss) December 4, 2013

Allow me to introduce GUNT. That stands for Grand Unified Negativity Theory. GUNT is my life’s work. It’s a model that attempts to explain the sum total of human behavior.

GUNT. Say it with me. G-U-N-T. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? And it’s all mine!

A huge part of GUNT is something I call Gaming Theory. This is decidedly not to be confused with Game Theory which is something else entirely (coincidentally a branch of economics for which eight Nobel prizes have been awarded).

GUNT predicts that I’ll never be recognized for my work, but that’s just me. Perhaps I’m being negative.

Perhaps it will help to start by showing some every day examples of GUNT:

• Who is cheating in sport? Start with the winner. See: Armstrong, Lance.
• Who are the absolute worst people to have children? See: Parents.
• What is a system that exists to funnel wealth from the poor to the wealthy? See: Money, currency.

In short, GUNT predicts that every possible human activity will be manipulated (gamed) to the advantage of some at the detriment of others. Money, power, wealth, privilege, justice, law, medicine, food, sport, entertainment, music, arts, literature, philosophy, religion, charities, etc. It’s all subject to GUNT.

#Abyss #Jeopardy: This powerhouse organization has two type of participants, Insiders and Suckers.

— Tom B. Taker (@shoutabyss) April 1, 2014

For example, let’s take a look at the stock market. This is a human-created system so it is subject to GUNT. Like all systems it has it’s own set of rules. Rules is the means by which the gamers are separated from the fish.

Ostensibly the act of “insider trading” is forbidden. This peculiarity only exists to entice and confuse the fish. Without unwitting participants a gamed system will produce no results.

In fact, a system like the stock market functions exclusively on insider trading. It’s the only viable component beyond the fish canning facility.

The TV show 60 Minutes did a story last Sunday night about the stock market. It’s basically peer review of my results.

Steve Kroft: What’s the headline here?

Michael Lewis: Stock market’s rigged. The United States stock market, the most iconic market in global capitalism is rigged.

Steve Kroft: By whom?

Michael Lewis: By a combination of these stock exchanges, the big Wall Street banks and high-frequency traders.

Steve Kroft: Who are the victims?

Michael Lewis: Everybody who has an investment in the stock market.

Source: CBSNews.com – Is The U.S. Stock Market Rigged?

They took a simplistic approach, focused on “high-frequency transactions,” but yeah, they seem to understand the wee tip of the iceberg named GUNT. It’s the one theory that takes into account all facets of human behavior.

Can you name other examples of GUNT? Have you experienced it yourself? Please share your data in the comments section below.