---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who had been riding the upward wave…"
description: "\"Those who had been riding the upward wave decide now is the time to get out. Those who thought the increase would be forever find their illusion destro..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_bangs_those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wav_381063.jpg"
---

#  Those who had been riding the upward wave decide now is…

![“Those who had been riding the upward wave decide now is the time to get out. Those who thought the increase would be forever find their illusion destroyed abruptly, and they, also, respond to the newly revealed reality by selling or trying to sell. And thus the rule, supported by the experience of…” quote by John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_bangs_those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wav_381063.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_bangs_those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wav_381063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_bangs_those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wav_381063.jpg)

> “Those who had been riding the upward wave decide now is the time to get out. Those who thought the increase would be forever find their illusion destroyed abruptly, and they, also, respond to the newly revealed reality by selling or trying to sell. And thus the rule, supported by the experience of centuries: the speculative episode always ends not with a whimper but with a bang.”

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Speculative booms end abruptly and dramatically, not quietly.

**In simple terms:** Speculative bubbles burst loudly.

Key Takeaway

Expect abrupt ends to speculative periods.

Themes

economics speculation market cycles history

Mood

cautious analytical

Type

advice historical

When to use this quote

- investment strategy
- risk assessment
- financial planning
- policy making

Key Concepts

bubble dynamics behavioral finance

Questions to Reflect On

- What indicators signal a speculative bubble?
- How can investors protect against sudden market crashes?

A Different Perspective

Predicting timing of crashes is difficult.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Now Is The Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now-is-the-time/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riding/) [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“My hopes for pie died on the sidewalk. There went my grin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-butler/my-hopes-for-pie-died-on-the-sidewalk-there-went-my-grin/)

[Carrie Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-butler/)

> [Evolution is a bankrupt speculative philosophy, not a scientific fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-swaggart/evolution-is-a-bankrupt-speculative-philosophy-not-a-scientific-fact/)

[Jimmy Swaggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-swaggart/)

> [Alternatives to gold and currency and to make a big speculative vehicle - I never considered for one second having anything to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/alternatives-to-gold-and-currency-and-to-make-a-big-speculative/)

[Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/)

> [Sci-fi is speculative fiction. 'Field of Dreams' is sci-fi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-hammer/sci-fi-is-speculative-fiction-field-of-dreams-is-sci-fi/)

[Bonnie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-hammer/)

> [Every novel begins with the speculative question, What if "X" happened? That's how you start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/every-novel-begins-with-the-speculative-question-what-if-x-happened/)

[Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/)

> [Attempts to estimate the impacts of climate change continue to be highly speculative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nordhaus/attempts-to-estimate-the-impacts-of-climate-change-continue-to-be/)

William Nordhaus

> [“There is a great difference between historical facts and speculative opinions ; nor is the knowledge of the one propagated in the same manner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-a-great-difference-between-historical-facts-and-speculative/)

[David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/)

> [Never mingle your speculative and investment operations in the same account nor in any part of your thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/never-mingle-your-speculative-and-investment-operations-in-the-same/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [Those who incline to very strictly utilitarian views may perhaps feel that the peculiar powers of the Analytical Engine bear upon questions of abstract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-lovelace/those-who-incline-to-very-strictly-utilitarian-views-may-perhaps-feel/)

[Ada Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-lovelace/)

> [I like the idea of a big caesura between the narratives, a space which readers can fill in with their own speculative history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/i-like-the-idea-of-a-big-caesura-between-the-narratives-a-space-which/)

[Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/)

> [Bold ideas, unjustified anticipations, and speculative thought, are our only means for interpreting nature: our only organon, our only instrument, for grasping her. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/bold-ideas-unjustified-anticipations-and-speculative-thought-are-our/)

[Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/)

> [Books appear to be the most immediate instruments of speculative delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-instruments-of-speculative/)

[Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/)

> [I've loved sci-fi and speculative fiction since I was a kid. It was inevitable I'd try my hand at it at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-ve-loved-sci-fi-and-speculative-fiction-since-i-was-a-kid-it-was/)

[Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/)

> [“I mean, that was the code, wasn’t it? Single girls and taken guys weren’t allowed to be friends. The leash always got in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-butler/i-mean-that-was-the-code-wasn-t-it-single-girls-and-taken-guys-weren/)

[Carrie Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-butler/)

> [Speculative fiction is where my heart lies. It's what I read growing up, and it's what I read as an adult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/speculative-fiction-is-where-my-heart-lies-it-s-what-i-read-growing/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

## More by John Kenneth Galbraith

> [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [“Men can labor to make sense out of single steps toward the goal without ever pausing to reflect that the goal itself is ludicrous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/men-can-labor-to-make-sense-out-of-single-steps-toward-the-goal/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [That one never need to look beyond the love of money for explanation of human behavior is one of the most jealously guarded simplification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/that-one-never-need-to-look-beyond-the-love-of-money-for-explanation/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/if-we-were-not-in-vietnam-all-that-part-of-the-world-would-be/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Washington is a place where men praise courage and act on elaborate personal cost-benefit calculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/washington-is-a-place-where-men-praise-courage-and-act-on-elaborate/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [World War II revealed two of the enduring features of the Keynesian Revolution. One was the moral difference between spending for welfare and spending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/world-war-ii-revealed-two-of-the-enduring-features-of-the-keynesian/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Money is what fueled the industrial society. But in the informational society, the fuel, the power, is knowledge. One has now come to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/money-is-what-fueled-the-industrial-society-but-in-the-informational/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [While it will be desirable to achieve planned results, it will be even more important to avoid unplanned disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/while-it-will-be-desirable-to-achieve-planned-results-it-will-be-even/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [A bad book is the worse that it cannot repent. It has not been the devil's policy to keep the masses of mankind in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/a-bad-book-is-the-worse-that-it-cannot-repent-it-has-not-been-the/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Genius is a rising stock market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/genius-is-a-rising-stock-market/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Mr. David Stockman has said that supply-side economics was merely a cover for the trickle-down approach to economic policy—what an older and less elegant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/mr-david-stockman-has-said-that-supply-side-economics-was-merely-a/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Inventions that are not made, like babies that are not born, are rarely missed. In the absence of new developments, old ones may seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/inventions-that-are-not-made-like-babies-that-are-not-born-are-rarely/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

[Explore all 434 John Kenneth Galbraith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

## More Bangs quotes

> [The very first company I started failed with a great bang. The second one failed a little bit less, but still failed. The third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-levchin/the-very-first-company-i-started-failed-with-a-great-bang-the-second/)

[Max Levchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-levchin/)

> [Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom Between the conception And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/between-the-idea-and-the-reality-between-the-motion-and-the-act-falls/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [And you've actually watched it yourself?' I asked. 'Willingly?' Sure. I had to see it, you know? Besides we should be safe. Only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/and-you-ve-actually-watched-it-yourself-i-asked-willingly-sure-i-had/)

[Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/)

> [He owned an expensive camera that required thought before you pressed the shutter, and I quickly became his favorite subject, round-faced, missing teeth, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/he-owned-an-expensive-camera-that-required-thought-before-you-pressed/)

[Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/)

> [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/)

[Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/)

> [Insect politics, indifferent universe. Bang your head against the wall, but apathy is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/insect-politics-indifferent-universe-bang-your-head-against-the-wall/)

[Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/)

> [When people can't abide things as they are, when they can't abide the present, they do one of two things ... either they ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-people-can-t-abide-things-as-they-are-when-they-can-t-abide-the/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [I give money to Unicef because I like the 'bang for your buck' aspect. Here's $10, go and save 1,000 kids from blindness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-give-money-to-unicef-because-i-like-the-bang-for-your-buck-aspect/)

[Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/)

> [how can he love me then not? He went,he ran. And I cannot bring him back. Yet I left the door metaphorically wide open,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-north/how-can-he-love-me-then-not-he-went-he-ran-and-i-cannot-bring-him/)

[Freya North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-north/)

> [ Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre, the guys who run that show \[Big Bang Theory\], are really funny and really smart, and the cast is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-spiner/bill-prady-and-chuck-lorre-the-guys-who-run-that-show-big-bang-theory/)

[Brent Spiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-spiner/)

> [Working on television is like being shot out of a cannon. They cram you all up with rehearsals, then someone lights a fuse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/working-on-television-is-like-being-shot-out-of-a-cannon-they-cram/)

[Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/)

> [Everybody was going along thinking that it was a day like any other day, and bang, down went the Twin Towers. Changed everything. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/everybody-was-going-along-thinking-that-it-was-a-day-like-any-other/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [I don't trust anyone who hasn't been self-destructiv e in some way, and who hasn't gone through some sort of bout of self-loathing. You've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/i-don-t-trust-anyone-who-hasn-t-been-self-destructiv-e-in-some-way/)

[Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/)

> [She folded her arms and then shouted, "Right you thieving scunners! How dare you steal Miss Treason's funeral meats!" "Oh, waily, waily, it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/she-folded-her-arms-and-then-shouted-right-you-thieving-scunners-how/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

Browse all 462 Bangs quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Those who had been riding the upward wave decide now is the time to get out. Those who thought the increase would be forever find their illusion destroyed abruptly, and they, also, respond to the newly revealed reality by selling or trying to sell. And thus the rule, supported by the experience of centuries: the speculative episode always ends not with a whimper but with a bang.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Kenneth Galbraith"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wave-decide-now-is-the-time-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bangs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wave-decide-now-is-the-time-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_bangs_those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wav_381063.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_bangs_those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wav_381063.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_bangs_those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wav_381063.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Those who had been riding the upward wave decide now is the time to get out. Those who thought the increase…” — John Kenneth Galbraith",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "John Kenneth Galbraith",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Those who had been riding the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wave-decide-now-is-the-time-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wave-decide-now-is-the-time-to/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
