Spare me the dramatics. Spare me the countless column-inches of ‘how did it happen?’ analysis. The most surprising aspect of the recent financial market crisis has been the surprise itself. It was always going to happen. Now that it has, perhaps we can remind ourselves of a few home-truths. 

At its core, the current economic situation is no different from any previous collapse. It boils down to too many financial institutions lending too much money to too many people in excessively risky situations.

“Thinking about thinking? That sounds a bit weird!” said my daughters. So much for the open minds of the young. For the last month I’ve been fulfilling a long term desire to lubricate my mind with the oil of philosophy. Along the way I’ve tried to explain to my offspring (clearly with limited success) what I’ve learnt and why it’s important.

Of course I can understand why the idea of thinking about thinking seems a bit bizarre. In the age of Go! Go! Go! even a pause for thought is likely to get you an impatient push from behind.

Ever wondered why it takes you so long to find the information you need on your corporate computer system? That’s if you can find it at all. Did you know that the tooth fairy could be partly to blame?

The tooth fairy visited our house just last week. Nothing particularly new in that: it must have been about her twentieth visit. The interesting thing is that the famous fairy is still trading our daughters’ off-cast teeth even though she is no longer believed in. It’s a classic case of suspended disbelief.

Simplicity is over-rated. At least that’s what a leading thinker on product design, Don Norman, wrote last month. He went further, saying “simplicity is a myth whose time has past [sic]”. So are those of us who believe in simplicity kidding ourselves? Is it worth pursuing or a waste of time and energy?

Norman presents a solid case that when it comes to comparing one product against another, most people will opt for the extra buttons and dials. In other words, complexity sells. 

And we’ve all done it, haven’t we? We’ve all chosen appliances with extra features – even though we know deep down we probably won’t use them. It’s a bit like choosing the fries instead of an apple at McDonalds even though we know the latter would be better for us.

It’s midnight on New Year’s Eve. The neighborhood air fills with the sounds of out-of-sync countdowns, out-of-tune renditions of Auld Lang Syne and the occasional pop of a fairly feeble firework. These were other peoples’ noises – we were having a quiet one – and they soon faded. Unlike much of the other noise we have to live with. 

We all live with an increasing din of other peoples’ noise. Technology has replaced the clicks and hums which used to accompany the music on our records and cassettes. But they have been replaced by much more ubiquitous noise – both audible and otherwise. Noise we can’t turn off.

Just as the car crested a hill it stopped. The engine went silent and the car just coasted. Thinking quickly, Simon managed to steer onto the shoulder of the road before he came to a complete halt. It was only then that he noticed the needle of the fuel gauge resting comfortably at its lowest position. 

He climbed out of the car and looked around. Nothing. He was an only an hour from the city but it might have it been a day for all the signs of life on offer. The sun, still high in the sky, washed the colour out of the landscape and brought with it a stillness as every creature but Simon hid from the heat.

Simon glanced at his watch. He was busy. He was always busy. This trip out of town was meant to be quick. Two hours out and back, an hour for the meeting. Hardly half a day. And he’d got heaps of work done on the way up – at least a dozen phone calls. He’d made a few on the way back too, until his phone finally gave out.

The phone!