Print Story Charles Lieberman, step away from the science textbook please.
Diary
By dr k (Tue Aug 07, 2007 at 06:17:57 PM EST) quantum economics (all tags)
Some "financial expert" on public radio this morning:

What's happened of course is a panic. And a panic just reflects a quantum change in people's thinking. And it can change as quickly going back the other way if all of a sudden people realize that the sky isn't falling.

A quantum change, so that is like a, the... er... what?



A quantum state would be something in an indeterminate state, like a certain Cat I know.

A quantum change would be a very very tiny change, something very small. I would say a "quantum" is the contemporary equivalent to what "microscopic" was in the 1800's, or "atomic" at the turn of the century (which at the time represented something so small it couldn't be made any smaller).

But a quantum change in people's thinking, which goes from "panic" to "not panic"? That seems like a state change, but far from an imperceptible -- let alone indeterminate -- state.

Of course the dictionary tells me that a "quantum" is also a very large quantity of something, which possibly makes some sense out of Lieberman's remark, except that he describes it as something that could change quite quickly. That would be to say:

A panic in the market reflects a very large change in people's thinking which can change quite suddenly in the opposite direction, once people realize that the sky isn't falling.

And that tell me... almost nothing.

Full discussion: http://www.hulver.com/scoop/story/2007/8/7/181757/1680