--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The big surprise: in his dissertation…" description: "\"“The big surprise: in his dissertation Greenspan addressed housing bubbles. “There is no perpetual motion machine which generates an ever-rising path f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/danielle-dimartino-booth-24430_big-sur_the-big-surprise-in-his-dissertation-gre_1793596.jpg" --- # The big surprise: in his dissertation Greenspan addressed… ![“The big surprise: in his dissertation Greenspan addressed housing bubbles. “There is no perpetual motion machine which generates an ever-rising path for the prices of homes,” he wrote. It’s too bad he didn’t believe his own words.” quote by Danielle DiMartino Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/danielle-dimartino-booth-24430_big-sur_the-big-surprise-in-his-dissertation-gre_1793596.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/danielle-dimartino-booth-24430_big-sur_the-big-surprise-in-his-dissertation-gre_1793596.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/danielle-dimartino-booth-24430_big-sur_the-big-surprise-in-his-dissertation-gre_1793596.jpg) > ““The big surprise: in his dissertation Greenspan addressed housing bubbles. “There is no perpetual motion machine which generates an ever-rising path for the prices of homes,” he wrote. It’s too bad he didn’t believe his own words.”” [Danielle DiMartino Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dimartino-booth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greenspan warned housing prices can’t rise forever; his own skepticism shows even experts can misjudge markets. **In simple terms:** Housing bubbles aren’t endless; experts can err. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant about market cycles. Themes economics housing risk forecasting Mood cautious analytical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - real‑estate investment - urban planning - financial regulation - personal budgeting Key Concepts bubble theory systemic risk policy analysis Questions to Reflect On - What indicators signal a market slowdown? - How do you protect assets from sudden declines? A Different Perspective Counterpoint: Predicting exact timing of bubbles remains extremely difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big sur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-sur/) [Bubbles Perpetual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bubbles-perpetual-1967911/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Dissertation Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissertation-greenspan-1967907/) [Greenspan Addressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greenspan-addressed-1967909/) [Housing Bubbles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housing-bubbles-1967908/) [Perpetual motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetual-motion/) [Surprise Dissertation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise-dissertation-1967910/) ## Related quotes > [Bubbles have quite a few things in common, but housing bubbles have a spectacular thing in common, and that is every one of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-grantham/bubbles-have-quite-a-few-things-in-common-but-housing-bubbles-have-a/) [Jeremy Grantham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-grantham/) > [But we have reason to think that the annihilation of work is no less a physical impossibility than its creation, that is, than perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-we-have-reason-to-think-that-the-annihilation-of-work-is-no-less/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The city had seemed like a great place to discover who you are. 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I'm not talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendelin-van-draanen/i-liked-it-i-liked-her-and-every-time-i-saw-her-she-seemed-more/) [Wendelin Van Draanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendelin-van-draanen/) > [“Your love is poetry in perpetual motion capturing my heart with centrifugal force.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/your-love-is-poetry-in-perpetual-motion-capturing-my-heart-with/) [Truth Devour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truth-devour/) > [All things are made of atoms-little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/all-things-are-made-of-atoms-little-particles-that-move-around-in/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [Marketing's job is never done. It's about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-comstock/marketing-s-job-is-never-done-it-s-about-perpetual-motion-we-must/) [Beth Comstock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-comstock/) > [“Leo Szilard, in 1929, showed that the very act of acquiring information about a system increases its entropy in proportion to the amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-mahon/leo-szilard-in-1929-showed-that-the-very-act-of-acquiring-information/) [Basil Mahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-mahon/) > [“He scolded his listeners for being eager to sell off their few productive assets in exchange for articles of prestige. “You say you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager-to-sell-off-their-few/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [This game wears on you. It tears you down. It's perpetual motion for some people who've achieved a level of independence, like Madonna and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/this-game-wears-on-you-it-tears-you-down-it-s-perpetual-motion-for/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more inextricable than the social contract, when you think of the frightful number of relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/does-it-seem-to-you-impossible-to-imagine-anything-more-inextricable/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [“Marketing is a never-ending story. It’s about perpetual motion where innovation plays the lead role.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-kehoe/marketing-is-a-never-ending-story-it-s-about-perpetual-motion-where/) [Stacey Kehoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-kehoe/) > [“You drive, walk, eat, look at television, read, and all the while, beyond you and the cozy circle created by your lady around herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/you-drive-walk-eat-look-at-television-read-and-all-the-while-beyond/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [“Maybe it came from whacking at two-by-fours and dreaming about perpetual motion. I don't know. All I know is that compared to her, Shelly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendelin-van-draanen/maybe-it-came-from-whacking-at-two-by-fours-and-dreaming-about/) [Wendelin Van Draanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendelin-van-draanen/) > [Painting' and 'religious experience' are the same thing. 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Harvard professor Niall Ferguson asked a strange question: Why hadn’t the recent assassination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dimartino-booth/usually-an-upbeat-affair-the-bca-conference-in-2006-proved-disturbing/) [Danielle DiMartino Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dimartino-booth/) > [“I worked for one of those who pushed back against the majority. He was the lone member of the FOMC who voted against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dimartino-booth/i-worked-for-one-of-those-who-pushed-back-against-the-majority-he-was/) [Danielle DiMartino Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dimartino-booth/) > [“The Economist wrote that the Fed was “taking the unprecedented (and, some say, disturbing) step of financing up to $30 billion of Bear’s weakest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dimartino-booth/the-economist-wrote-that-the-fed-was-taking-the-unprecedented-and/) [Danielle DiMartino Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dimartino-booth/) > [“At 6 P.M. Paulson and Bernanke briefed members of the House and Senate leadership. They had little choice, Bernanke explained. AIG was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dimartino-booth/at-6-p-m-paulson-and-bernanke-briefed-members-of-the-house-and-senate/) [Danielle DiMartino Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dimartino-booth/) > [“In 1996, my first year on Wall Street, the New York Times wrote a story pointing out that IBM, which had employed more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dimartino-booth/in-1996-my-first-year-on-wall-street-the-new-york-times-wrote-a-story/) [Danielle DiMartino Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dimartino-booth/) > [“Banks traditionally profited by capturing the difference between the interest rate at which they made loans and what it cost them to borrow. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dimartino-booth/banks-traditionally-profited-by-capturing-the-difference-between-the/) [Danielle DiMartino Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dimartino-booth/) > [“The basic task performed by the credit rating agencies was to strip derivatives of their individuality. Whether it was David Bowie pioneering securities derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dimartino-booth/the-basic-task-performed-by-the-credit-rating-agencies-was-to-strip/) [Danielle DiMartino Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dimartino-booth/) [Explore all 24 Danielle DiMartino Booth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dimartino-booth/) ## More Big sur quotes > [We don't have a farm-to-table food safety system. I keep saying this. 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Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Remember when I cried to you a thousand times I told you everything, you know my feelings It never crossed my mind that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-when-i-cried-to-you-a-thousand-times-i-told-you-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Evil has always been there; it's always a part of us. Evil is no big surprise. But what about the people who gave freely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/evil-has-always-been-there-it-s-always-a-part-of-us-evil-is-no-big/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [For me, poetry has a strong link to my filmmaking. My films learn from my poetry. In poetry, you're free. 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