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The Big Mo: Why Momentum Now Rules Our World
News cycles move faster now than ever before, technology allows us to connect with others in seconds and markets crumble faster than ever. Amidst it all we've come to accept - even expect - that events will continue to accelerate and have an ever greater impact: that the next disaster will always be bigger than the last, that more money than ever will be made in business.
Welcome to the new world, in which momentum is the driving force behind everything.
Drawing on the latest research by economists and scientists as well as real-life examples, Mark Roeder charts the unstoppable rise of the Big Mo. He reveals why momentum was the real driver of the global financial crisis and how this mysterious force is also at work in spheres as diverse as the media, politics and the environment.
This provocative book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the dangers of 'going with the flow' and harness the power of positive momentum.
Welcome to the new world, in which momentum is the driving force behind everything.
Drawing on the latest research by economists and scientists as well as real-life examples, Mark Roeder charts the unstoppable rise of the Big Mo. He reveals why momentum was the real driver of the global financial crisis and how this mysterious force is also at work in spheres as diverse as the media, politics and the environment.
This provocative book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the dangers of 'going with the flow' and harness the power of positive momentum.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Mark Roeder
3 books6 followersMark Roeder writes about the powerful undercurrents and ideas that are reshaping the modern world.
His books and articles are provocative, insightful and entertaining. They include The Big Mo: Why Momentum Now Rules Our World and Unnatural Selection: Why the Geeks Will Inherit the Earth.
Before becoming a writer Roeder worked as a senior executive at UBS Bank, Zurich Financial Services and Westpac Bank, and lived in London, New York, Sydney and Zurich. His global corporate experience inspired him to reflect deeply on the nature of the systems and beliefs that now run our world – and their effect on society, culture, and human evolution. Currently Roeder is a consultant with the Chicago based David Hale Global Economics, and is a Delphi Fellow contributor to Big think. He holds a masters degree in business and technology from the University of NSW.
Roeder was born in London, England. His father was a medical doctor, and his great, great grandfather was the author Frank Fowler, who played a significant role in the Australia’s early literary history.
Roeder divides his time between Europe and Australia.
(source: http://www.markroeder.net/biography)
His books and articles are provocative, insightful and entertaining. They include The Big Mo: Why Momentum Now Rules Our World and Unnatural Selection: Why the Geeks Will Inherit the Earth.
Before becoming a writer Roeder worked as a senior executive at UBS Bank, Zurich Financial Services and Westpac Bank, and lived in London, New York, Sydney and Zurich. His global corporate experience inspired him to reflect deeply on the nature of the systems and beliefs that now run our world – and their effect on society, culture, and human evolution. Currently Roeder is a consultant with the Chicago based David Hale Global Economics, and is a Delphi Fellow contributor to Big think. He holds a masters degree in business and technology from the University of NSW.
Roeder was born in London, England. His father was a medical doctor, and his great, great grandfather was the author Frank Fowler, who played a significant role in the Australia’s early literary history.
Roeder divides his time between Europe and Australia.
(source: http://www.markroeder.net/biography)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 4, 2010
I am in middle of this book and really like it. The idea of going with the flow, with momentum became the mantra of our modern world but it may be a destructive one. The author challenges the concept that financial markets regulate themselves, that any system has to return to its equilibrium, that Internet can grow forever and that lack of regulation and control gives global financial system huge benefits. The author says that we are one step removed from reality, that the complex modern technologies and sophisticated processes that rule the world today make us vulnerable, that we are not in control. This book definitely has its own ‘Big Mo’; I can not put it down.
The book ended on a very pessimistic note. The issues of climate change, global market, politics and on-line communications are all swept on the huge wave of momentum and we are not in control of them. Is there a way to slow down and understand all of it better or are we all destined to go over the cliff, there is no easy answer?
The book ended on a very pessimistic note. The issues of climate change, global market, politics and on-line communications are all swept on the huge wave of momentum and we are not in control of them. Is there a way to slow down and understand all of it better or are we all destined to go over the cliff, there is no easy answer?
November 7, 2013
this is a very good book and i m just wondering why it isnt a bestseller already
the author provides a very compelling case about the nature of momentum and examines many different fields e.g. large corporations, celebrities, technologies, religions, environments, politics and geopolitics to provide a case for this invisible force.
towards the end the author also provides suggestions on how to overcome this.
2 things that i m not sure if i agree with the author:
(a) drawing parallels between nature and human behaviour. It's a beautiful concept but i m not sure if it will really fit. Human is largely motivated by a will to meaning vs nature where they simply exist without a true meaning/purpose in life.
(b) the points are scattered throughout the book - although the author did mention in the preface that he is not creating a unified theory on social behaviour. Thought it might help if he can bullet-ize his points. (ironically bullet-izable powerpoint slide is one of the many discussions in the book.)
the author provides a very compelling case about the nature of momentum and examines many different fields e.g. large corporations, celebrities, technologies, religions, environments, politics and geopolitics to provide a case for this invisible force.
towards the end the author also provides suggestions on how to overcome this.
2 things that i m not sure if i agree with the author:
(a) drawing parallels between nature and human behaviour. It's a beautiful concept but i m not sure if it will really fit. Human is largely motivated by a will to meaning vs nature where they simply exist without a true meaning/purpose in life.
(b) the points are scattered throughout the book - although the author did mention in the preface that he is not creating a unified theory on social behaviour. Thought it might help if he can bullet-ize his points. (ironically bullet-izable powerpoint slide is one of the many discussions in the book.)
December 5, 2016
An interesting topic, the concept highlighted in multiple settings (not just financial markets). However I felt that towards the end the book was getting repetitive and it was a bit of a slog to finish it off.
July 7, 2021
‘The Big Mo’ is a fascinating account on the collective wave of our actions or inactions culminating to a momentum with disastrous consequences that has shaken our world to the core in many ways. The author has supported this theory with solid evidence and observations which led to a global financial crisis on one hand and a never ending war in the Middle East on the other. Besides these 2 cases, great supporting anecdotes of this momentum effect from the field of media, technology, entertainment, politics and environment makes this book a compelling read of sorts...
September 16, 2014
A tour de force through various ideas and strands of thinking. There's nothing really revolutionary in the book but it is a good round-trip on why the economy (and society) needs to take a break and rethink its foundations.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews