The world is flat and I can prove it.
Flat Earth societies promote that the world is flat, rather than a sphere. Their most recent model of the planet shows humanity living on a disc with the North Pole at its center. In fact, as of November of last year, one Facebook group called "Flat Earth - No Trolls" had in excess of 37,000 members! With that in mind, did you know I can actually prove the earth is flat?
I can use a very accurate measuring tool, a carpenter’s level; placed on the ground right outside my office in the parking lot ….and there’s the proof, the world is perfectly flat!
Did I prove my point? Can you measure something to either prove or disprove what you wish to take, as fact? Oh, yes, you can; and usually it’s someone with unrealistic expectations during a bull market, which we have had for the past nine years.
I have actually run into people who believe they should be able to get +20% rate of return, per year in the stock market, +20%! They believe the world is flat.
Let’s pretend they were correct for two years, two years of +20% returns; but then the reality of the world bares down on them with a third year of a -20% return.
Their actual yield has now been reduced to an annualized 3.6% for all of those three years. Their world is not flat.
But, it gets worse, because they still believe that it is flat! How much would they need to get in the stock market in year number four, to just get back to their annualized twenty percent? The answer is +80%, just to get back to their belief that they can average a +20% return, per year.
What are the odds of that? You can’t make measurements for short periods of time and assume the ‘big picture’. The big picture is round with many hills and valleys along the way. A level doesn’t work. To view the world you need a telescope from outer space.
