People want to see patterns in the world. It is how we evolved. We descended from those primates who were best at spotting the telltale pattern of a predator in the forest, or of food in the savannah. So important is this skill that we apply it everywhere, warranted or not.

— Benoit Mandelbrot, The (Mis)Behavior of Markets (2004)

From The (Mis)Behavior of Markets, ch. 12.

Topics: learning