NOVA: Mind Over Money

As devastating as the global financial meltdown of 2007-9 was, it actually stunned the vast majority of people, including those generally regarded as financial wizards. Curiously, these individuals not only failed to predict the depression, but long argued that such a calamity was next to impossible. Their arguments rested on axioms central to classical economics, including the notions that investors generally act reasonably and tend to act on the basis of their own self-interest. The problem with this logic is that such rules no longer apply in extreme situations amid great panic. The episode of the classic PBS documentary series Nova entitled MIND OVER MONEY draws on interviews with fiscal experts and scientific experiments tied to money to investigate the great leap forward in economic understanding engendered by the said meltdown.