SK, you just said "You can't be that pessimistic of humanity..?"
Right now I'm reading Shiller's work, and here's a piece of a preface to his popular book "Irrational Exuberance" which I was reminded of when you said that in response to my comments on giving the Dow a better chance of seeing 1,000 rather than 100,000...
When the Dow Jones Industrial Average first surpassed 10,000 in March 1999, Merrill Lynch took out a full-page newspaper ad with a headline saying, "Even those with a disciplined long-term approach like ours have to sit back and say 'wow.'" In the bottom left corner of the page, next to a stock plot ending up at 10,000, appeared the words "HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT." If this is an achievement worth congratulating, then we should congratulate employees whenever they submit glowing self-evaluation reports.
-Preface xv of Robert Shiller's 'Irrational Exuberance'