| From the Desk of Don Yocham: Within language, there lies a trap.
The political left branded themselves "liberal" during FDR's term. But their politics have nothing to do with liberty.
You might also think that "critical" in critical race theory means critical reasoning. Wrong. Critical theorists explicitly consider reason a pathology.
To them, critical refers to using criticism as a technique. Critical theorists identify an aspect of an existing power structure to criticize.
Then, unfettered by reason, take that criticism to the extreme to tear that power structure down.
Even when they have a point, that point gets lost amidst the underlying agenda that ultimately rejects reason.
Socrates warned of this when he stated, "The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms." Confucius said much the same thing. They wanted you to consider the true meaning of words to improve understanding.
But politics and philosophy aren't the only realms where words do more to confuse than inform. Investing has its fair share of verbal traps as well.
"Black Swans" does not mean unlikely adverse events. Low probabilities are insufficient. Black Swans refer to the seemingly impossible. Impossible, that is until they happen.
Investors face a similarly misleading landmine when they hear "inflation."
It can mean an inflating money supply, rising prices, or something else entirely.
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