Did expectations run too far ahead of reality?
We're not always perfect, and are quick to criticize recovery times when they last more than a day, but perhaps we've become spoiled by having our expectations raised too far.
For now, the Fed is promising to leave its target interest rate at zero at least until the unemployment rate is down to 6.5%, so long as medium-term inflation expectations aren't too far above 2%.
Unfortunately, history suggests that when the gulf between expectations and reality widens too far, people start saying "Enough!" At that point, they start responding in a more aggressive, less tolerant fashion.
The value increased only slowly because scientists were easily biased toward rejecting results that deviated too far from expectations, based on Millikan's number.
Ford also addressed the issue of EU regulations, admitting that Britain could not diverge too far from expectations, but that that there ought to be some flexibility.
But the huge damage award, well above the $70m that Petroecuador in 2011 estimated it would need to clean up the pits, is keeping expectations high, the two sides too far apart and, crucially, real relief from getting to the affected areas.
While Goldman Sachs generally pleased investors with earnings that could be read as not too far from expectations, Morgan Stanley on Wednesday posted a far-greater-than-projected loss of $2.4 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter.
When guilt bleeds into shame and makes us feel inadequate, or drives us to give up who we are to fit in with culture, trends, or other people's expectations, then it has gone too far and no longer serves its social function.
