Introduction

We are living in an age of breathless excitement. Artificial Intelligence, we are told, is not just a new technology; it is a force that will reshape humanity, solve our greatest problems, and create unprecedented wealth. Fortunes are being made overnight. The fear of missing out is palpable. As an educator who has implemented LLM-based simulations in my own teaching, I see the profound potential. But as a Dutch economic historian, I also hear a faint, familiar echo from centuries ago—the scent of tulips on the winter air.


A Lesson from the Golden Age

In the 1630s, my native Netherlands was in the grip of "Tulip Mania." A simple flower bulb, newly introduced from the Ottoman Empire, became the world's most speculative asset. At the height of the frenzy, a single bulb of a rare variety could be traded for the price of a grand Amsterdam townhouse. People sold their land, their businesses, and their futures to get in on the boom. It seemed like a new economic paradigm where prices could only go up.

Then, in the winter of 1637, the market collapsed. With shocking speed, the prices plummeted by over 90%. Fortunes were wiped out. The word "tulip" became synonymous with a speculative bubble, a testament to how collective euphoria can detach an asset's price from its intrinsic value.

But the Dutch Golden Age did not end. The Netherlands remained a global center for trade, finance, and art. Why? Because the nation's economy was not built on tulips alone. The merchants, artisans, and farmers who survived—and even thrived—were those who were diversified. They had their ships, their trading houses, their farmlands, and their craft. The tulip was a gamble, but their livelihood was a portfolio. They had the resilience to bounce back because they had not bet their entire existence on a single, beautiful flower.

Navigating the AI Bubble with Wisdom

Today, we see the AI mania. It is a technology far more powerful than a tulip, with the potential to be a true engine of progress. But the human behavior surrounding it is identical. The hype, the FOMO, the astronomical valuations of companies with more promises than profits—it is Tulip Mania supercharged by the speed of the internet.

Resisting this hype does not mean being a cynic or a Luddite. It means being a wise investor—in our finances and in our lives. It means recognizing the real value of AI while refusing to be swept away by the speculative frenzy. It means asking critical questions and, most importantly, staying diversified.

The art of bouncing back, whether from a market crash or a personal crisis, is rooted in this principle. It is about building a life so robust and varied that the failure of any single part cannot bring down the whole. Your financial portfolio should be balanced, but so should your portfolio of skills, relationships, and experiences. This is the true wealth that no market crash can erase.

Hypes come and go. Bubbles inflate and burst. But the core values of wisdom, resilience, and prudent diversification are timeless. They are the bedrock that allows us not only to survive the inevitable crashes but to emerge stronger and ready for the next chapter in our journey of learning.

Conclusion: Plus Ça Change...

The French have a saying: plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose—the more things change, the more they stay the same. The technologies may evolve from flower bulbs to large language models, but the underlying human drama remains unchanged. It is the timeless battle between collective euphoria and individual reason, between the seductive narrative of endless growth and the sober reality of intrinsic value. Hypes come and go. Bubbles inflate and burst. But the core values of wisdom, resilience, and prudent diversification are timeless.

This historical echo is not a call for cynicism, but a call for clarity. It is a call to action. In an age supercharged by algorithms designed to amplify emotion and create consensus cascades, we have a collective duty to stand as bulwarks for rationality, truth, and facts. This means asking the uncomfortable questions. It means demanding evidence over evangelism. It means valuing the quiet work of building real, sustainable value—in our companies, in our skills, and in our communities—over the loud spectacle of speculative frenzy. 

The true promise of AI, or any great technological leap, will not be realized by those who lose their heads in the hype. It will be secured by those who keep their feet firmly planted on the ground of reality, ready to build something of lasting worth long after the mania has faded.