the.com/panic
your brain's smoke alarm screaming about toast like the house is burning down
means a sudden, overwhelming surge of fear or anxiety that overrides clear thinking, often spreading quickly through a group or market.
from From the Greek god Pan, the goat-legged deity of wild places, whose eerie cry in lonely woods and mountains was blamed for the inexplicable terror that could seize travelers and flocks. The Greeks called this sudden dread panikon, 'of Pan,' and it traveled through French (panique) into English. So the word literally means the kind of fear a forest god gives you — irrational, contagious, and seemingly out of nowhere.
- god origin
- Named for Pan, who terrified travelers with sudden forest dread
- speed
- Amygdala fires before your conscious mind notices danger
- false alarm
- Panic attacks often mimic heart attacks but harm nothing
- contagious
- Crowds spread fear faster than any actual threat
- breathing trick
- Slow exhales literally switch off the alarm system
bank run march 2023 — silicon valley bank collapsed after $42 billion in deposits withdrawn in 48 hours
tulip mania 1637 — dutch traders drove bulb prices to astronomical levels then crashed suddenly in amsterdam