From Walter Gutman’s book You Only Have to Get Rich Once, published in 1961: When computers are as familiar as cash registers, IBM will sell at a much less romantic value – wait and see. There is a particular moment when the value of mystery is at its greatest. When most investors are completely ignorant, they don’t pay much for mystery — many of these stocks could have been bought at very reasonable prices in 1957. There is a special moment when everyone sees that something amazing is coming out of mystery and then they will pay a lot more to know more about this strange new thing. Later on, when mystery has given birth, when they know more, they will pay less. Thus most of the electronic stocks that boomed in 1959-1961 will be selling for less in 1965, and all of them, I feel sure, will be selling for less in relation to their earnings. In other words, those companies that fulfil the vision of 1959 will be much better known to investors in 1965, and their stocks will be given a ra...
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